The 57th annual PDK Poll on the public’s attitudes toward public education found that 43 percent of Americans give their local schools an A or B grade (down from 54 percent in 2022), while just 13 percent feel the same about the nation’s public schools (a fall from 23 percent in 2022).
A representative, random sample of just over 1,000 adults participated in the survey between June 21-30, which covered topics including parental satisfaction with the education their child is receiving, school choice, cellphone and artificial intelligence (AI) policies, teacher pay and federal actions regarding the attempted dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education.
Of those surveyed, just 12 percent had strong support for closing the federal Education Department while 66 percent strongly opposed such efforts. Differences were observed by gender, as men were more likely to be in support of the department’s elimination, as well as political affiliation, with Republicans most in favor.
“Among our respondents, 19 percent believed eliminating the department would have a positive impact on public education, with 65 percent believing the opposite,” according to PDK International’s Director of Public Relations John G. Hendron, who reported on the survey results. “Six percent of respondents thought that eliminating the department would have no impact.”
Measures to keep teachers and students safe, providing more career and technical education programming and addressing the teacher shortage were some of the most important issues to respondents. Eighty percent of respondents said it was very important for schools to work to ensure students have a sense of belonging but only 49 percent felt similarly about their support for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
On the subject of teacher salaries, 64 percent of respondents felt they are too low in their community — down slightly from 66 percent in 2018.
As for access to cellphones while in school, 86 percent indicated support for cellphone restrictions of some kind during the academic day for youth.
“A complete ban on cellphone use throughout the school was supported by 40 percent of respondents; 46 percent supported access to cellphones outside of classroom activities such as during lunch or in-between classes,” Hendron said. “Eleven percent of respondents do not support a cellphone ban, especially if use of the device helps students academically.”
Respondents most supported the use of AI as a tutor for students via interactive computer applications followed by using it as a tool to help students practice taking standardized tests.
Other findings
Seventy percent of parents who participated in the survey reported being satisfied with the level of input they have in their student’s education. Private school parents had higher rates of satisfaction than public school parents.
“In this year’s poll, 59 percent of parents supported using public funding so that their child could attend a private or religious school,” according Hendron. “Among Republicans, 71 percent supported the use of public funding to send their child to a non-public school versus 47 percent of support from Democrats. Independents led in support of using public funding for non-public schools, at 84 percent.”
Meanwhile, 46 percent of those surveyed indicated support for charter or lab schools, which usually get public funding but may be subject to different oversight, Hendron explained. This was lower than prior years, such as 2013 when 68 percent of respondents voiced support. “One reason may be that other programs that give parents money to attend private or religious schools provide a different kind of alternative,” Hendron wrote.
PDK International is a nonprofit organization that supports teachers and school leaders “by strengthening their interest in the profession through the entire arc of their career,” according to their website. View the poll results here.
