According to a national survey of 1,200 adults conducted between November 1984 and January 1985, Americans are solidly in favor of raising standards for graduation from junior and senior high schools, even if the changes result in the failure of their own children to graduate. The respondents were not willing to support these reforms if they were paid for by closing schools or by eliminating existing extracurricular programs, but indicated that they would be willing to pay higher taxes to implement the new standards. Fewer than half of the respondents favored lengthening the school year or the school day. Those surveyed also favored requiring teachers to pass state or national tests and to participate in professional development activities during the summer. Respondents supported raising teachers' salaries, offering merit pay, or both; limiting class sizes; assigning disruptive students to alternative environments; and having teachers encourage students' personal growth. The majority of those polled gave their own local high schools a grade of B or better. The respondents were 81 percent white and 58 percent women; 52 percent had attended college; and their age and geographic distribution were representative of the United States population in general. (PGD)