US School Satisfaction Hits All-Time Low, Gallup Finds

Americans’ satisfaction with the quality of K-12 education in the United States has fallen to its lowest point in nearly three decades, according to a new Gallup poll published Tuesday and shared exclusively with The Associated Press. Just 32% of American adults say they are “completely” or “somewhat” satisfied with the U.S. school system, an 11-point drop over the past two years and the lowest level since Gallup began tracking this measure 27 years ago.

At the same time, dissatisfaction has risen to a record high of 67%. The findings, produced in partnership with the Walton Family Foundation, reflect deepening concerns about education quality, curriculum debates, and the broader challenges confronting the public school system.

A Growing Political Divide

The poll reveals a stark partisan split in how Americans view their schools. Democrats report 35% satisfaction, independents 32%, and Republicans 25%. Democrats are driving the recent decline, with their satisfaction falling 19 points since 2024, after President Donald Trump’s second term began in January 2025. Independents’ satisfaction is down 10 points from 2024, while Republicans’ satisfaction has dropped 6 points.

Experts say the Trump administration has contributed to the erosion of public confidence by depicting schools as political battlegrounds, raising concerns about classroom speech, moving to abolish diversity programs, and seeking to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education.

“It’s terrifying. We’re on the precipice of the dissolution of the public education system as we have known it,” said Jack Schneider, director of the Center for Education Policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Schneider noted that Democrats are particularly concerned by Trump’s signature school choice program, which would use taxpayer-supported scholarships to fund private school tuition.

Beyond Politics: Academic Concerns

But politics alone does not explain the dissatisfaction. Gallup polling shows public confidence in schools has generally declined since the COVID-19 pandemic closed classrooms, exacerbating academic declines, mental health issues, and other problems. National test scores have fallen since the pandemic, especially in reading, sending a message that schools have struggled to rebound from COVID-era lows.

“We’ve had a drumbeat of bad news about test scores and other social trends that could be driving this,” said Sarah Reckhow, a political science professor at Michigan State University. “There’s a ton of debate, discussion and noise about technology and AI in education,” she added, noting that debates over students’ screen time at school have dominated education headlines.

According to Gallup News, the survey also asked Americans to rate how well schools prepare students across several areas. Only about 2 in 10 adults say schools are doing a “good” or “excellent” job teaching critical thinking, the lowest-rated area. Schools received their highest marks for preparing students to adapt to new technologies, with 44% rating this area positively.

Parents More Positive About Their Own Children’s Schools

Despite the grim national picture, parents of K-12 students hold notably more favorable views of their own children’s education. About 66% of K-12 parents say they are satisfied with their child’s school, a record low in the trend but still double the 32% satisfaction with U.S. education among adults overall. The high point in parents’ satisfaction with their own child’s school was 83% in 1999.

“When people weigh in about the nation’s schools, what they are commenting on are 98,999 schools that they haven’t set foot in,” Schneider said.

This persistent gap between parents’ ratings of their own child’s education and of the national system suggests that concerns are less about individual schools and more about the state of the system nationwide, as Gallup’s previous year’s polling also indicated.

A Broader Institutional Distrust

Gallup senior education researcher Zach Hrynowski says the findings reflect a wider frustration with institutions across American society.

“People have a general negative vibe about everything in the country right now,” Hrynowski said. “People are frustrated, and don’t think any institution is working particularly well.”

The first Gallup poll was conducted by telephone from August 3-24, 2026, using a random sample of U.S. adults ages 18 and older, with a margin of sampling error of ±4.0 percentage points for adults overall and ±8.3 percentage points for parents of K-12 students. A second online survey of 2,143 U.S. adults was conducted August 3-17, 2026, with a margin of error of ±3.0 percentage points.

What to Watch

As the 2026 midterm elections approach, education policy is likely to remain a flashpoint. The administration’s push to dismantle the Education Department and expand school choice programs will continue to shape public perception, while ongoing debates over curriculum, technology in classrooms, and academic recovery from the pandemic will influence how Americans assess their schools in the months ahead.

With satisfaction at historic lows and the gap between national perception and local experience widening, the findings underscore a deepening crisis of confidence in American public education that transcends party lines.