American families are losing confidence in public education, a new Gallup poll shows, with the number of parents satisfied with their child's education declining 10% since last year's poll.
As parents are viewing public education less positively than before — 72% satisfied this year — more are transitioning to homeschooling their children, an increase of 10%, Gallup News reported. All of this comes during a time when education is being hotly debated, with school districts and state governments deciding on whether or not to return to in-person education amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The percentage of parents satisfied with public education consists of those who are completely satisfied (32%) and those who are somewhat satisfied (40%). The 10% decrease comes from parents who were completely satisfied one year ago. The percentage of these parents last year was 41%, but dropped to 32% this year. The decrease is largely due to the impacts the coronavirus has had on education.
Former President George W. Bush
| File photo
"[Our] COVID-19 tracking poll in May found that although parents largely gave their child's school positive ratings for its remote learning, they found aspects of it to be challenging," Gallup said. "Meanwhile, more recent data show that parents are torn about what type of schooling they prefer for the new school year and that teachers are 'very concerned' about returning to their classrooms."
While homeschooling has increased, it is distinctively different from distance learning. Traditional public school is still the most favored medium, even though it dropped seven points from last year.
"As was the case last year, Americans are about as likely to say they are satisfied (50%) as dissatisfied (48%) with the quality of K-12 education in the U.S.," Gallup said. "Only about one in 10 U.S. adults report being completely satisfied with the quality of education. The low point in overall satisfaction with the nation's schools over the 21-year trend was 36% in 2000, when education was a key issue in the U.S. presidential election. The 53% high point in satisfaction was in 2004 as Republicans were overwhelmingly positive about the results of then-President George W. Bush's 'No Child Left Behind' education reform law."
Regardless of the results of the poll, education in the U.S. continues to be a great priority, especially during the challenges the coronavirus pandemic brings. Students and teachers will continue to adapt to the changing learning environments, while offering students the safest and best education that can be offered in the current situation.
"Although parents largely rated the performance of their child's school positively at the end of the last school year, they also reported experiencing considerable challenges brought on by the physical separation from classmates and teachers, a lack of motivation or attention span from their child, and balancing work while assisting their child with schoolwork," Gallup said. "The latest drop in satisfaction with the quality of their child's education is likely a result of some parents' concern about the effectiveness of remote schooling. This concern has no doubt contributed to the uptick in the percentage of students who will be homeschooled this year."
