Policy Documents

Beware of Polls with Slanted Questions

Milton & Rose D. Friedman Foundation –
January 1, 2006
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The most frequently cited education poll, the annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll, contains a voucher question that has been proven to be extremely sensitive to small changes in wording. In 2004 and 2005, the Friedman Foundation commissioned a poll that asked 500 people the PDK/Gallup question, and 500 people the
same question with two small changes. The results shifted dramatically both times – by 22 and 23 points, respectively.