A secondary analysis of eight years' cumulative results from the annual Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes toward public schools is presented. These eight polls reveal a public that has confidence in its schools and its teachers and supports specific innovations, particularly career education, moral education, and various types of alternative public schools. The public is concerned about discipline, basic skills, class size, and size of schools; and is strongly opposed to forced busing for racial integration, expanding students' rights, and giving students a greater voice in decision making in schools. In the 1976 Eighth Annual Gallup Poll, discipline continues to be cited by adults as the most important problem in public schools. Discipline is followed by problems associated with busing and integration. The third critical issue is educational finance. Criticisms of poor or inappropriate curricula are becoming more frequent. Other trends are also reported. A guide for conducting a local opinion poll, reprinted from The Gallup Poll of Attitudes Toward Education, 1969 - 1973 is included. (MV)