Public satisfaction with K-12 schools nationally hit a record low this year, with about a third of Americans saying they are content with the quality of education students receive, according to a conducted by Gallup, in partnership with the Walton Family Foundation.
Thirty-five percent of Americans say they are 鈥渃ompletely鈥� or 鈥渟omewhat鈥� satisfied with the nation鈥檚 school system, Gallup reported.
That鈥檚 an 8-point drop since last year. And it is 1 point below the previous record lows, which were recorded in 2000 and 2023. Gallup has been surveying the public on this question annually since 1999.
Meanwhile, nearly a quarter of respondents鈥�24%鈥攁re 鈥渃ompletely dissatisfied with the quality of the nation鈥檚 K-12 schools, while 38% are 鈥渟omewhat dissatisfied.鈥� To be sure, public satisfaction with K-12 schools has rarely risen above 50% in Gallup鈥檚 survey鈥攈itting 53% in 2004 and 51% in 2019, which were all-time highs.
This year鈥檚 low satisfaction numbers seem to be at least in part due to Democrats and independents feeling less satisfied with K-12 schools since President Donald Trump regained the White House, said Megan Brenan, a senior editor at Gallup.
Democrats鈥� satisfaction with schools fell 12 points to 42% after Trump took office, and independents鈥� satisfaction is down to a new low of 34%.
National politics is clearly having a big impact on the public鈥檚 overall view of K-12 schools, experts say. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e looking at here,鈥� Brenan said. Respondents鈥� 鈥渙wn partisanship is affecting the way that they answer the overall K-12 question.鈥�
Twenty-nine percent of Republicans said they were satisfied with the nation鈥檚 schools, which is statistically similar to last year鈥檚 level of 31%. However, that鈥檚 a shift from 2017, the beginning of President Donald Trump鈥檚 first term, when Republicans鈥� levels of satisfaction with schools shot up to 45%, from 32% in 2016.
Why no bump for Republicans this time around? One possibility: The Trump administration has been largely negative about schools and has been cutting funding for them, Brenan suggested.
In open-ended responses in the Gallup survey, Democrats worried about how problems like lack of funding affected students鈥� educational experiences, Brenan added. Republicans, on the other hand, were more likely to worry that schools push a political agenda, she said.
Parents are largely content with their own child鈥檚 school
One potential bright spot in the survey for 糖心动漫vlog: Parents of K-12 students are largely content with their local schools, as has been the case for the more than a quarter-century that Gallup has surveyed on this topic.
About three-quarters of parents say they are either 鈥渃ompletely鈥� or 鈥渟omewhat鈥� pleased with the quality of education their oldest child is receiving, compared to 6% who are completely dissatisfied and 17% who are somewhat dissatisfied.
That is in line with Gallup鈥檚 results for the past 26 years. Over that time, an average of 76% of parents have said they are satisfied with their own child鈥檚 school.
Gallup included a new question on this survey, asking respondents how they thought schools were doing in preparing students for college and the workforce.
About 1 in 5 U.S. adults鈥�21%鈥攕aid schools are doing an 鈥渆xcellent鈥� or 鈥済ood鈥� job getting students ready for jobs, while 33% said the same about preparing students for college.
Notably, younger adults, ages 18 to 29, were more likely to give higher ratings for college-and-career preparation than older adults, Brenan said.
鈥淭hose who have recently experienced K-12 education are more positive than those who are just observing it from the outside,鈥� Brenan said.
