Phi Delta Kappa and Gallup yesterday released their annual poll of American attitudes toward public schools, and the results were illuminating. The poll asked: “Do you favor or oppose allowing students and parents to choose a private school to attend at public expense?” Of the 1,011 adults who were polled, 38% said they favored such a program, while 60% said they opposed it.

As these columns have previously pointed out, the phrase “public expense” tends to scare people, meaning it’s important to be careful about language when discussing school vouchers. Another 1,000-person national poll, by the First Amendment Center and the American Journalism Review, was conducted at the same time as the PDK-Gallup poll, in June 2003. The First Amendment Center/AJR poll asked respondents about the statement: “Parents should have the option of sending their children to non-public schools, including those with a religious affiliation, using vouchers or credits provided by the federal government that would pay some or all of the costs.” A total of 62% either strongly or mildly agreed with the statement, while 35% either strongly or mildly disagreed. It’s almost an exact reversal of the numbers in the PDK/Gallup poll.

But this year’s PDK/Gallup poll also asked a question that took the voucher question from the abstract to the specific. It asked, “Suppose you had a school-age child and were given a voucher covering full tuition that would permit you to send that child to any public, private, or churchrelated school of your choice. Which kind of school do you think you would choose?” Only 35% opted for a public school, while a total of 62% opted for either a church-related or non-church-related private school. That 62%, interestingly enough, is the same level that supported vouchers in the First Amendment Center/AJR poll.

So — two separate, recent, relatively large nationwide polls showing, when you come down to it, 62% support for school vouchers. It’s an issue that some politician might seize on successfully. It could be Senator Lieberman, the Democratic presidential candidate who has supported a voucher program aimed at poor children in the District of Columbia. Or it could be President Bush, who campaigned for school vouchers but then backed away from them in reaching a compromise with Senator Kennedy on an education bill. Mr. Bush makes a big deal about not being driven by polls. But there’s a principle at stake here, too. The most enlightening question in the PDK/Gallup poll, after all, is the one that began, “Suppose you had a school-age child.”