Auburn University: Parents in poll give schools good grade

Auburn University pollsters found a high degree of satisfaction in local schools by parents around Alabama.

When asked to grade local schools in their community, the majority of a statewide sample of 639 residents interviewed by telephone in July assigned high marks: 25 percent gave their local schools a grade of A; and 36 percent gave a B.

"These grades are extraordinary," said Don Terry Veal in an Auburn press release. Veal is the director of the Center for Governmental Services that conducted the poll. "When the Gallup organization last asked the same question to a nationwide sample only 46 percent of Americans gave their local schools a grade of A or B."

Only 3 percent in the Auburn poll gave their school a failing grade.