A new PDK/Gallup Poll reveals bad news for the corporate education reform movement to privatize public education. According to the poll vouchers, previously considered a useful wedge weapon against public schools are more unpopular than ever.
This week, the 45th annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools was released. Although it hit on several hot education topics, such as the Common Core State Standards and Teacher Evaluation, one of the poll’s most notable results was the public’s growing disapproval of private school vouchers.
The survey reported the highest level of opposition to private school vouchers in its history: 70 percent of the public opposes private school vouchers. This is even higher than the opposition marked in 2012 (55 percent) and 2011 (65 percent).
Vouchers along with charter schools form the major core of the Corporate reform movement and have been the subjects of countless PR campaigns and a fraudulent documentary film. Obviously the messaging is not working.
This increasing public disillusionment with private school vouchers severely hampers proponents’ arguments that private school vouchers are the answer to the country’s educational woes.  In fact, given the public opposition to taxpayer-funded private schools, it is more evident that legislators pushing vouchers are serving their ideological needs, rather than the needs of their constituents.
It seems the more people are educated about privatization the less they support it. Ironically the corporate reform of  public education movement needs ignorance to survive.