NewsNational News

Actions

Americans' view of K-12 education better in 2024, especially among Democrats

Although parents were more likely than non-parents to express support for K-12 education, satisfaction has dropped.
Beautiful,Blurred,Background,Of,Bright,Classroom,And,Study,Room,With
Posted
and last updated

How Americans view the K-12 education system reached a record low in 2023, but updated polling by Gallup indicates perceptions of K-12 schools have improved in the last year.

According to Gallup, 63% of American adults surveyed in 2023 said they were dissatisfied with the school system, compared to 35% who said they were satisfied. In an August 2024 poll, 55% say they're dissatisfied, while 43% claim to be satisfied.

The 2024 survey largely matches figures from 2022, when 55% said they were dissatisfied while 42% said they were satisfied.

RELATED STORY | A third of K-12 students perform behind their grade level, survey finds

Only once in the last 20 annual surveys have Americans been more likely to be satisfied with education than not. In 2019, 51% of those polled said they were satisfied with the school system, while 47% said they were unsatisfied.

Until 2020, sentiment among Republicans and Democrats about education was largely similar. Coming out of the pandemic, there has been a definite political divide.

In the latest poll, 53% of Democrats say they're satisfied, while just 33% of Republicans expressed satisfaction with education.

Parents giving higher marks

Of those polled, 69% are not parents of kids currently enrolled in K-12. But when parents of K-12 students were asked about how satisfied they are with their oldest child's education, 70% said they were satisfied while 29% said they weren't.

RELATED STORY | Parents and teens agree: It's harder being a teen now than in the past

Satisfaction among parents has declined since 2019, when 82% expressed satisfaction with the quality of education their oldest child was receiving.

The survey found that 78% parents of were sending their kids to public schools, while 8% were attending private schools and 8% were being home-schooled. Parents of students attending charter schools accounted for 4% of the survey.