Parental satisfaction with public education is at an all-time low

Most Americans are unhappy with elementary and secondary education in the United States. Americans' satisfaction with the quality of K-12 education has fallen six points, compared to last year. A Gallup poll revealed that 35% are satisfied with the quality of K-12 education, matching the all-time low from 2000.

"The latest readings, from an Aug. 1-23 poll, find that Americans’ overall satisfaction with the nation’s K-12 education quality is nine points below the 45% historical average for this metric. At the same time, parents’ satisfaction with the quality of their school-aged child’s education matches the historical average for the measure." the study stated.

The survey revealed that only 25% of Republicans are satisfied with K-12 education, which is an all-time low and five points below the previous low recorded last year and about half of what it was in 2019 and 2020.

"Lower satisfaction from Republicans and Republican-leaning independents since Joe Biden became president has driven the overall decline in ratings of the nation’s K-12 education quality," Gallup said.

Despite the data, nearly three-quarters of parents say their children's teachers performance is "excellent" (36%) or "good" (37%), while 20% gave it a "fair" rating and 7% a "poor" rating.

The survey was conducted Aug. 1-23 among 1,014 U.S. adults. The margin of error is plus or minus four percentage points.