A new public opinion poll shows that only 20 percent of Hawai'i residents give public schools overall grades of A or B, while 54 percent give their child's own school an A or B.

Additionally, 45 percent said schools have stayed the same, while 25 percent said they had improved.

However, education officials yesterday questioned the value of the survey.

The poll, which has been done every two years for the past 15, shows there's been little change in public opinion regarding public schools in the past 10 years, said Department of Education administrators. But because the questions are exactly the same, schools superintendent Pat Hamamoto sees little value in the answers and plans to develop a more precise survey.

Part of the problem is that 70 percent of those surveyed do not have children in public schools.

"We're not comfortable with this," Hamamoto said. "We want the survey targeting the right questions. Seventy percent are not interested in education and are just going to give us an average rating, and that doesn't help us."

Hamamoto said even if a more appropriate and pinpoint survey were negative, it would provide more useful feedback.

"We're looking to design a public survey to get a better picture of what we have to do," she said.

The telephone survey of 600 people was conducted in February and August.

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com.