Rasmussen Survey on School Textbooks

Rasmussen has released the results of a survey it conducted on how people feel about school textbooks. Respondents were asked about who should control what textbooks say, how well they portray history, and what rights parents have in choosing what textbooks their children use.

Of those surveyed, 9% felt the federal government should have final say about what textbooks are used in the classroom while another 9% felt that the state government should have a say. More people, 15% felt the local government should be able to make the final decision on classroom textbooks. The most number of people, 34%, felt that teachers should have final say and 24% believed that power should be given to parents. Nine percent of those surveyed were not sure.

The majority of those surveyed, 61%, felt that parents should be able to transfer their children to a school using different textbooks. Only 27% believed they should not be able to and 12% were not sure.

When asked if most history textbooks portray American history accurately, only 31% said yes while 46% said no and 26% were not sure.

Of those surveyed, 27% believed most history textbooks were concerned with portraying history accurately. The majority, 55%, felt that textbooks were most interested in presenting information in a politically correct manner. Another 18% were unsure.