Abstract
This study determined the accuracy of the estimates of community support for school sex education by three school groups. Subjects were 200 randomly selected adults of an Indiana city and 4 school board members, 14 administrators and 14 health science teachers of the city school Corporation. Community members were asked if instruction about 11 human sexuality topics should be given to students before completion of high school and if they endorsed school sex education in general. The school groups then estimated the percentage of the community supporting the 12 items. In general, a high degree of inaccuracy was found for all three school groups in perceptions of community support. Each group underestimated the degree of endorsement for all of the criterion measures, with a significant difference being found for most items. Further, none of the school groups were, in general, any more accurate in their perceptions than the other groups. The investigation provided little support for the utilization of perception as a strategy in determining public views toward school sex education. It was recommended that more precise assessment methods be used.