Satisfaction with K-12 education drops to record low: Gallup

Just 35 percent of respondents to a Walton Family Foundation-Gallup poll released Tuesday are satisfied with the state of K-12 education in the United States. 

That marks the lowest satisfaction level since Gallup began conducting the poll in 1999. The poll, conducted over the phone from Aug. 1 to Aug. 20, found that 7 percent of respondents are “completely” satisfied with the quality of K-12 education, with 28 percent being “somewhat” satisfied. 

In May, President Trump signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to dismantle the Department of Education. The department started operations in 1980, after President Carter signed an act mandating its creation in 1979. The department is yet to cease operations. 

The previous low mark of 36 percent satisfaction occurred in the 2000 and 2023 versions of the survey. 

The survey found, though, that parents of K-12 students are almost twice as content with the their own child’s schooling relative to the general state of education in the U.S.

Among those who are parents of K-12 students, 32 percent of respondents said they are completely satisfied with their oldest child’s education, with 42 percent saying they are somewhat satisfied. 

Six percent of parents said they were completely dissatisfied with their oldest child’s education, while 17 percent said they were somewhat dissatisfied. 

Among Democratic, independent and Republican respondents, satisfaction with K-12 education is 42, 34 and 29 percent, respectively. 

According to an online poll conducted by the same organizations from Aug. 1 to Aug 15, just 26 percent of respondents believe K-12 schools are going in the right direction, with 73 percent of respondents feeling otherwise. 

The same poll found that 33 percent of respondents feel K-12 schools do so for college, with 21 percent of respondents believe K-12 schools do an excellent or good job of preparing students for the work world. 

Parents of K-12 students have slightly more positive views of education’s ability to prepare students for life after high school: 30 percent of respondents who are parents feel that K-12 schools do an excellent or good job preparing students for the work world, while 41 percent believe K-12 schools do the same for college.