Commonwealth Education Poll
As a program of the Office of Public Policy Outreach, CEPI coordinates the inclusion of education related questions in the Wilder School's semi-annual Public Policy Poll and publishes the results online as the continuing Commonwealth Education Poll. Begun more than 15 years ago, this continued polling is used to gauge public support for a variety of education issues, from state funding for public education to whether Virginia’s institutions of higher education are doing a good job preparing graduates for jobs.
For questions about the Commonwealth Education Poll, contact OPPO's Faculty Director Robyn McDougle, Ph.D., at (804) 827-3290 or rdmcdougle@vcu.edu or Survey Director Farrah Graham, Ph.D., at (804) 828-1989 or stonefn@vcu.edu.
2018 Summer Commonwealth Education Poll (part of the Wilder School Public Policy Poll)
These findings are part of a statewide survey conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University. Topics covered in the education portion of the Wilder School Public Policy Poll include school safety, whether higher education is worth the cost and performance in workforce development by high schools and colleges.
The Commonwealth Education Poll, now part of the Wilder School Public Policy Poll, was conducted by landline and cell telephone from July 10-30, 2018, with a random sample of 802 adults in Virginia. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 3.49 percentage points. This poll is conducted twice a year by VCU’s Office of Public Policy Outreach in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.
2017-18 Winter Commonwealth Education Poll (part of the Wilder School Public Policy Poll)
These findings are part of a statewide survey conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University. Topics covered in the education portion of the Wilder School Public Policy Poll include K-12 funding, workforce readiness of high school, community college and four-year school graduates and other issues.
The Commonwealth Education Poll, now part of the Wilder School Public Policy Poll, was conducted by landline and cell telephone from December 8-26, 2017, with a random sample of 788 adults in Virginia. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 3.49 percentage points. This poll is conducted twice a year by VCU’s Office of Public Policy Outreach in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.
2017 Summer Commonwealth Education Poll (part of the Wilder School Public Policy Poll)
These findings are part of a new statewide survey conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University. Topics covered in the K12 and Campus Safety release include opinion on school and campus safety, ways of measuring school success and whether protection from discrimination or unlimited freedom of expression should be emphasized by university administrators. Topics covered in the Economic Development release include opinion on higher education performance.
The Commonwealth Education Poll, now part of the Wilder School Public Policy Poll, was conducted by landline and cell telephone from July 17-25, 2017, with a random sample of 806 adults in Virginia. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points. This poll is conducted twice a year by VCU’s Commonwealth Educational Policy Institute (CEPI), which is a program of the Office of Public Policy Outreach in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.
2017 School Budget Facts and Insights
The 2017 CEPI High School Graduation press release compiles data and previously released poll results relevant to the workforce readiness of graduates and other topics.
2017 School Budget Facts and Insights
This "Facts and Insights" publication provides a convenient reference for facts and figures that may be helpful to media and community members as localities decide how much funding is needed for schools in their area. The publication highlights recent CEPI polling data (mostly from our 2016-17 Commonwealth Education Poll ) on the relevant topics like funding sufficiency, willingness of taxpayers to pay more for education, what types of taxes the public prefers and where the public thinks additional funds should go.
2016-17 Commonwealth Education Poll
These findings are part of a new statewide survey conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University. Topics covered in the higher education and workforce development release include public perception of performance of colleges and universities in Virginia and the workforce readiness of high school, community college and four-year school graduates. Topics covered in the K-12 funding and policy release include K-12 funding and opinion on restructuring secondary education toward greater workforce development. Additional topics include support for changing the Virginia constitution to provide greater freedom for charter schools, openness to children earning high school credits online and opinion on differential teacher pay across differently performing schools.
The Commonwealth Education Poll was conducted by landline and cell telephone from November 8-17, 2016, with a random sample of 806 adults in Virginia. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 4.3 percentage points. This poll is conducted annually by VCU’s Commonwealth Educational Policy Institute (CEPI), which is part of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.
2016 Back-to-School Facts and Insights
This "Facts and Insights" publication provides a convenient reference for facts and figures that may be helpful in Back-to-School stories. The publication highlights recent CEPI polling data (mostly from our 2016 Commonwealth Education Poll ) on the relevant topics of school and campus safety. The Commonwealth Education Poll was conducted by landline and cell telephone from December 15-20, 2015, with a random sample of 801 adults in Virginia. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points. This poll is conducted annually by VCU’s Commonwealth Educational Policy Institute (CEPI), which is part of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.
2015-16 Commonwealth Education Poll
These findings are part of a new statewide survey conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University. Topics covered include readiness of high school, community college and four-year college graduates for the workforce, higher education performance and opinion on restructuring secondary education toward greater workforce development. Additional topics include K-12 funding, opinion on impact of the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) and accountability policies. The Commonwealth Education Poll was conducted by landline and cell telephone from December 15-20, 2015, with a random sample of 801 adults in Virginia. The margin of error for the poll is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points. This poll is conducted annually by VCU’s Commonwealth Educational Policy Institute (CEPI), which is part of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.
2014-15 Commonwealth Education Poll
The 2015 Commonwealth Education Poll is a current statewide survey of adults in Virginia conducted by CEPI. Topics covered include K-12 funding, public perspective on increased online learning options for high school students, opinion on impact of the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) and accountability policies. The report also contains results for questions regarding bullying, school safety and pre-Labor Day school opening. In relation to higher education, the poll provides a look at Virginian’s perceptions of the quality of education offered by Virginia’s four-year universities, community colleges and online universities, perspectives on workforce development and perceptions of campus safety. The margin of error for the poll is +/- 4.1 percentage points.
2013-14 Commonwealth Education Poll
The 2014 Poll provides insight into public opinion on topics ranging from the impact of SOL testing, performance of colleges and universities in the commonwealth and safety in both public K-12 schools and colleges and universities.
2012-13 Commonwealth Education Poll
- VCU Commonwealth Education Poll finds majority of Virginians support pre-Labor Day school opening and homeschool sport participation
- VCU Commonwealth Education Poll finds majority of Virginians support increased spending for K-12 and think higher education is doing a good job preparing and producing graduates