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The Pennsylvania Public Education Issues Survey was conducted by the
Pennsylvania Education Funding Advocacy Group,
a coalition of 19 regional and statewide non-partisan organizations. The survey was submitted to all 2006 candidates for the Pennsylvania Senate and Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Candidates were asked about their visions for the state's education funding system, the No Child Left Behind Act, closing the achievement gap, early childhood education, and the educational opportunities they feel should be available to every Pennsylvania child. Candidates' responses are not used for purposes of any recommendation or endorsements. Voters and the media are encouraged to read and consider the issues raised in this voter education resource. Responses were received from 110 candidates for the General Assembly, representing 26% of candidates seeking election to the Pennsylvania Senate and 19% of candidates seeking election to the Pennsylvania House. Read what the candidates had to say about public education in Pennsylvania:
Responses are posted verbatim as submitted by the candidate, including spelling and grammatical errors. Candidates that did not respond to the survey by the April 12 deadline are listed as "Did Not Reply." The six questions on the Pennsylvania Public Education Issues Survey are the following: 1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Pennsylvania's system of funding public education? What should the Pennsylvania Legislature do, if anything, to improve the system of funding public education? (75 words or less) 2. How should the Pennsylvania Legislature assist school districts to meet the requirements of Pennsylvania's regulations for academic standards and graduation requirements as well as the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) that expects every student to demonstrate proficiencies on state assessments in reading, math and science by 2014, and for all schools to demonstrate "adequate yearly progress" (required by NCLB) toward that goal? (75 words or less) 3. How should the Pennsylvania Legislature assist school districts to close the academic achievement gaps that exist among groups of students in schools and school districts across the Commonwealth? (75 words or less) 4. What, if anything, should the Pennsylvania Legislature do to increase access for young children in Pennsylvania to high-quality pre-K programs and full-day kindergarten programs? (75 words or less) 5. What is your vision of the public education opportunity that should be available to every child in Pennsylvania and what will you do to accomplish that goal? (75 words or less) 6. Is there anything else that you will do to strengthen Pennsylvania's public education system? (75 words or less)
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