Satisfaction With Public K-12 Schools Drops to New Low

Americans’ satisfaction with the nation’s K-12 public school system has hit a new low.

A new poll from Gallup shows satisfaction with the quality of K-12 education has fallen to a 35% approval rating. That's the lowest level recorded in Gallup's trend dating back to 1999. This marks an eight-percentage-point decline from just last year.

It's also one point below the previous lows registered in 2000 and 2023. The long-term average is 45%. Gallup polling showed satisfaction exceeding 50% has been recorded only twice: 53% in 2004 and 51% in 2019.

Additional measures reflect similarly low assessments of the education system. About one-quarter of Americans believe K-12 schools are headed in the right direction. Just 20% rate schools as "excellent" or "good" at preparing students for today's jobs, while 33% give the same rating for college preparation.

Parents of current K-12 students report higher levels of satisfaction than the general public, with nearly twice as many satisfied with their own child's education compared with national ratings. They are also slightly more likely than U.S. adults overall to view the direction of education and schools' preparation of students for the workforce and college positively. However, even among parents, no measure reaches a majority.

The Aug. 1–20 Walton Family Foundation-Gallup telephone poll shows just 7% of U.S. adults are "completely" satisfied and 28% "somewhat" satisfied with the quality of K-12 education, compared with 38% who are somewhat dissatisfied and 24% who are completely dissatisfied.

The Gallup poll is not alone in showing dissatisfaction with the K-12 system. Morning Consult reported midsummer 2025 polling it conducted showed that "half of Americans said that K-12 education is on the wrong track nationwide." Its polling showed only 25% of respondents felt optimistic about the direction of K-12 education.

During his second term in the White House, President Donald Trump has targeted K-12 education for structural changes, including executive orders aimed at increasing school choice, enhancing parental authority over education decisions, and shifting power from federal to state and local levels.

*The sample size and margin of error estimate for the Gallup poll were not provided.

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