With schools across America preparing to re-open their doors for another academic year, most parents are feeling pessimistic about the direction of K-12 education at all levels, according to a new report from EdChoice, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to support school choice nationwide.
Conducted in collaboration with Morning Consult, this survey consists of results collected during May, June, and July from online surveys. 2,250 adults and 1,300 parents participated in this study.
Numerous education-related issues were explored in this survey, including the Trump Administration’s effort to close the Department of Education, federal funding, course offerings, and school choice policies.
Confidence in the public education system is much higher at the local level than it is at the national level. While 37 percent of Americans feel that local education is on the right track, just 25 percent feel that the same is true nationwide.
This pattern has held steady over the course of the past few years despite overall fluctuations in confidence.
Optimism about the direction of K-12 education is much higher among parents, where confidence that things are on the right track was found to be 50 percent at the local level and 37 percent at the national level.
This survey also gauged what Americans believe should be the “main purpose of education” for K-8 students, as well as for high school students.
The majority of both parents and the general population feel that “core academic subjects” should be the primary focus of educating younger students and that developing “skills for future employment” should be top of mind for high school educators.
Less than half of parents, as well as adults overall, think that education should focus on conveying “values, moral character, religious virtues,” although parents tended to think this should be prioritized moreso than the general population.
Parents and the general population both underestimate average per pupil spending in America.
While the mean FY22 per pupil spending was just over $15,000, parents estimated spending at $5,000, and the general population believed it to be $6,000. Non-parents guessed that per pupil spending was roughly $10,000.
Across all of these groups, respondents were significantly less likely to say that per pupil spending was too low when provided with publicly available information about their state’s average spending per student.
By this same token, however, there was also an increase in the percentage of people who felt that per pupil spending was actually too high when informed of the statistics in their state.
Parents were also asked to what extent the federal government should be involved in K-12 public education, gauging their opinions on interventions ranging from funding schools in low-income areas to setting uniform education standards.
Over 60 percent of school parents felt that the federal government should play a “major role” in funding schools that serve low-income students, providing funds to help support students with disabilities and special needs, and “ensuring equal opportunities” in K-12 education.
Also popular were “holding schools accountable” and “overseeing and protecting” students’ civil rights while at school.
49 percent of parents said that they feel the federal government should play a major role in setting educational standards for each grade level.
The smallest share of parents (38 percent) said that the federal government should play a major role in administering surveys to school districts, parents, teachers, and students.
Parents are generally more supportive of President Donald Trump’s (R) plan to dismantle the federal Department of Education than the general population, but those who favor the effort are still in the minority.
While 33 percent of adults were found to support dismantling the Department, this share increases to 40 percent among parents of school-aged children.
Just over half of Republicans expressed support for the proposal, which stands in stark contrast to the 20 percent and 28 percent of Democrats and Independents respectively.
The vast majority of parents feel that it is either “extremely” or “very” important that their child’s school offers advanced courses, a share that goes up slightly among private school parents compared to public school parents.
Over 60 percent of private school parents said that they would move their child to another school if advanced course offerings were eliminated. Just 39 percent of public school parents said the same thing, a statistic that is likely impacted by the lack of school choice programs in many parts of the country.
As it currently stands, private school parents are significantly more satisfied with the advanced educational opportunities available to their children than public school parents. While 85 percent of private school parents feel that the current offering available to their children are suitable, the same is true for only 65 percent of public school parents.
Satisfied parents were appreciative of skilled teachers and the advanced course offerings, while dissatisfied parents found the advanced education options underwhelming, either due to an overall shortage or a lack of variety.
