NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Education ranks among the most important issues for Tennesseans who are likely to vote in the November election for governor, according to a statewide poll.
The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), a nonpartisan education policy and advocacy nonprofit that focuses on improving student achievement, today released the results of the survey of 600 likely Tennessee voters. The poll was conducted by telephone August 27-30 by Fabrizio, Lee & Associates and Benenson Strategy Group.
One-third of voters said education is an important issue in deciding their vote for governor. When asked to be more specific, 25 percent of education-focused voters zeroed in on providing a high-quality education for students.
Besides education, the top issues identified in the race for governor were the economy and jobs (34 percent of likely voters) and health care (32 percent).
This survey is the third SCORE has released since August 2017, and voters have consistently identified education as one of the top three issues in the gubernatorial race.
Voters expressed doubt that Tennessee students are graduating ready for the next steps after high school, with 59 percent of survey respondents saying students are not properly prepared for the workforce. A plurality of voters polled, 47 percent, said students are inadequately prepared for college.
Nearly three out of four voters surveyed said they would be more likely to support candidates who favor policies that would better prepare students for postsecondary education and careers. The survey found a majority of voters support five readiness policies:
• Expanding efforts to ensure Tennesseans have greater access to post-high school education, 73 percent
• Providing more opportunities for workforce certificates for high school students, 72 percent
• State grants to local communities to improve workforce and college readiness, 73 percent
• A work-based learning experience for every high school student, 65 percent
• Personalized college and career counseling for every high school student, 58 percent
Other education policies supported by a majority of voters surveyed include making early grade literacy the state’s top priority (64 percent), giving parents more choices for where to send their child to school (63 percent), and expanding quality pre-kindergarten opportunities (59 percent).
METHODOLOGY STATEMENT: Fabrizio, Lee & Associates conducted a Tennessee statewide survey of 600 likely 2018 election voters via landline and cell phone on August 27-30, 2018. Landline interviews accounted for 60 percent of the sample and cell phone interviews 40 percent. Geography by county and media market were matched to previous statewide elections. Gender and age were matched to the population of likely voters according to a state-provided voter file. Respondents were randomly selected from lists of known registered voters who had previously voted in a general election. The margin of error at the 95 percent confidence interval for 600 voters is ±4.00 percent.