SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today issued the following comments on Great Expectations, the New America Media multilingual poll of Latino, Asian, and African American parents about educational aspirations for their children:

"This important poll clearly shows that, as expected, parents in all ethnic groups have high expectations for their children and also want our public schools to hold their children to high expectations. The poll reveals overwhelming support for a high school exit exam as a condition of graduation. Moreover, ethnic parents in California believe the skills measured by the exam are the very least their children must acquire to succeed. The vast majority of parents polled expect their children to graduate not only from high school but from college or graduate school. They understand that a high school diploma is meaningless if it does not signify preparation with skills necessary to succeed in education and in life.

"The poll also shows that California's ethnic parents strongly support preschool and understand the importance of quality preschool in preparing students to succeed in school. Although California voters defeated Proposition 82, it remains clear that making quality preschool more widely available is an important next step for improving academic achievement in California schools. I look forward to continuing the statewide dialog on providing greater access to preschool for all California children."

To access the New America Media poll, please go to: http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_custom.html?custom_page_id=315 (Outside Source).