President Barack Obama applauds during graduation ceremonies at Notre Dame University, Sunday, May 17, 2009, in South Bend, Indiana. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune/MCT)

By Sharon Noguchi

San Jose Mercury News

(MCT)

SAN JOSE, Calif. — At the height of his popularity, President Barack Obama could significantly sway public opinion on three controversial education issues: charter schools, merit pay and vouchers, a new study has found.

The president’s favorable views on charter schools and merit pay for teachers increased approval for those issues by more than 10 percentage points — and by as much as 23 points for African-American respondents.

The findings suggest that Obama’s views influence attitudes toward education reform, which he has championed. On Tuesday, the White House announced that Obama would address schoolchildren next Tuesday in a nationally broadcast talk to classrooms.

Obama’s influence is notable because public opinion usually shifts only gradually, according to one of the authors of the new survey, which was conducted by Education Next, a journal of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and by the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University.

“Definitely this is a testament to his popularity,” said Paul E. Peterson, a senior fellow at Hoover and a Harvard professor, who said the results surprised him.

Results of the survey, released Monday, were based on 3,200 interviews conducted in late February and early March.

It found Obama shifted opinions most strongly with those tending to be his supporters: Democrats and African-Americans. And, the survey found, he even influenced teachers, who, while often part of Democratic coalitions, belong to unions that have forcefully opposed merit pay and have criticized charters.

They found that Obama’s influence was statistically similar to the effects of research: When respondents were informed that studies showed that charters raise test scores or students learn more when teacher pay is linked to student performance, they were more likely to favor charters and merit pay.

Santa Clara County schools trustee Anna Song welcomed the findings on Obama’s ability to boost support for charters, which are public schools freed from both the state education code and local school board control.

“I think charters are here to stay,” said Song, who heads a task force organizing a charter school summit in January.

The study was conducted using three groups of respondents. One was asked for opinions on charters, merit pay and vouchers. A second was informed of Obama’s view before being asked to give their own opinions (Obama favors charters and merit pay but opposes vouchers.) A third group was informed about research findings before giving their opinions.

For instance, the survey found that 40 percent of people support school vouchers. However, after being told of the president’s opposition, support fell to 24 percent.

This isn’t the first time an “Obama effect” has been gauged. Last year, three professors administered a graduate-entrance exam to 472 students and found that, after Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic convention, the performance of African-American test-takers improved, effectively closing the white-black academic achievement gap.

However, another pollster noted the study was conducted during the president’s political honeymoon, when he enjoyed a 60 percent approval rating.

“I hate to throw cold water on it, but we’re in a very different place in September,” with Obama having spent his political capital on his health care initiative and other issues, said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll. With the president’s popularity having sunk 10 points since the study was conducted, DiCamillo said, “I’d love to see it replicated now.”

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