Poll: Public Still on Learning Curve For Federal School Law

Washington

Most Americans remain largely in the dark about the No Child Left Behind Act some 2½ years after its enactment, despite a steady stream of media coverage and intensive efforts by the Bush administration and others to raise awareness about the federal law, according to an annual survey of public attitudes on education.

The Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll found that more than two-thirds of respondents knew nothing, or next to nothing, about the federal school improvement law.

Of those surveyed, 40 percent said they knew "very little" about the law, and 28 percent said "nothing at all." The results reflect only a slight improvement in public awareness from when the same question was asked a year earlier. At that time, an identical proportion said they knew very little, while 36 percent said they knew nothing at...