A survey of state education agencies (SEA's) in Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, supported by a random sampling of SEA's elsewhere in the nation, revealed several aspects of education in which the publics of all the surveyed states expressed low confidence. This document identifies eight of these issues, indicating the messages being received from the public regarding each. The document then itemizes the messages needing to be sent to the public to clarify the values and successes of education; useful data sources for preparing these messages; and alternative actions that SEA's can take to respond positively to responsible criticisms. The eight issues covered are student achievement, the cost of education, teacher preparation and effectiveness, student discipline and behavior, dropouts, lack of public information concerning schools, the needs of special populations, and the relationship of educational costs to benefits. (PGD)