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US Public School Approval Hits Historic Low as Parents Sound Alarm
Confirmed
In Short: Americans' satisfaction with the quality of K-12 education has reached an unprecedented low, with only 32 percent feeling satisfied, according to a recent survey.
Americans' satisfaction with the quality of K-12 education in the country has hit a low point, with only 32 percent of American adults reporting feeling 'completely' or 'somewhat' satisfied with the nation’s school system, according to a new report from The Independent.
Jack Schneider, director of the Center for Education Policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, noted that the Trump administration has contributed to declining public trust by framing schools as political battlegrounds.
Political friction, however, is not the sole cause of the public's discontent. A continuous stream of news reports highlighting falling national test scores, particularly in reading, has reinforced the perception that schools are struggling to recover from pandemic-era setbacks.
Education and school policy experts describe the survey results as deeply troubling, though not unexpected. Zach Hrynowski, a senior education researcher at Gallup, said the results point to broader cynicism toward public institutions.
The public at large are losing faith in the exam system in the country on account of systematic frauds that have occurred in the conduct of exams, the Karnataka High Court observed in a recent ruling. The court dismissed an anticipatory bail plea of the chairman of the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) in a veterinary doctors exam fraud case.
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- Americans’ satisfaction with the quality of K-12 education in the country has hit a low point Americans’ satisfaction with the quality of K-12 education in the country has hit a low point Public approval of the quality of K-12 education in the United States has fallen to an unprecedented low, driven by a growing political divide and widespread concerns that schools are failing to prepare children for college and future careers.
- "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 who specializes in public policy.
- "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.
- Approval among independents has also declined by about 10 points since 2024, while Republican satisfaction has dropped by about six points.
- He added that Democrats are also particularly concerned by Trump’s flagship school choice initiative, which uses publicly funded scholarships to cover private school tuition.
- “The public are losing faith in the system of examinations. We are seeing so many meritorious students committing suicide in the NEET exam. What mistake have they committed. What is the loss the families have suffered. It is not the question of one result; there are so many issues involved. People are not capable of coming forward and answering the issues,” Justice Vishwajith Shetty remarked “People should be arrested on the spot. They should not be allowed to roam free; otherwise, it cannot be halted,” the HC said in oral observations.
- “Your role is much more serious than that of the candidates. The material that the public prosecutor has placed raises serious concerns. There has been prima facie material which has been placed. The matter is still under investigation,” the HC observed.