American education satisfaction hits new low as student scores continue to decline  

Only 32% of Americans are satisfied with the quality of K-12 education, an 11-percentage-point drop in two years and the lowest level since Gallup began tracking satisfaction in 1999, according to a new Gallup poll.

Although the survey didn’t specify public schools or private schools, the vast majority of U.S. students attend public schools, giving weight to the findings.

“People are waking up to the failing government school monopoly,” Corey DeAngelis, a leading school choice advocate and research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said Tuesday in an X post. 

Gallup reports that more than 65% of Americans are dissatisfied with K-12 education, with Democrats joining Republicans and independents in expressing frustration.

“U.S. adults offer largely negative ratings of the job the nation’s schools are doing in preparing students for the future across a range of areas,” Gallup writes. “Critical thinking and problem-solving rank among the most poorly rated areas for schools, while preparation to adapt to new technologies earns the highest rating.”

While Republicans and independents have tended to be apprehensive regarding education, Democrats are joining their skepticism. Within the past year, education satisfaction among Democrats has fallen seven points. Most Republicans and independents critique the lack of teaching basic skills, while Democrats also cite lack of funding and the poor quality of education in comparison with other countries.

The findings come at the same time as a new report that documented declining math scores in the U.S. and other developed countries.

International math scores fell by 22 points from 2015 to 2025 and by 28 points in reading across various countries with similar economic standing to America. The Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, surveys 91 countries on educational preparedness. Of those countries, 38, including the U.S., are members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), providing a better comparison of economic equals.

The 2025 PISA report, released Tuesday, found nearly half of students across OECD countries use chatbots weekly or more for learning. Additionally, 28% of students say their peers are distracted by digital devices in nearly every science class.

The results suggest students struggle with longer, complex texts, likely due to short attention spans, according to the report.

“We cannot say for sure, but declining levels of reading for enjoyment and the shift towards digital reading – skimming social media feeds and rapidly processing information – may be compromising the ability of students to engage with complex texts and data,” Andreas Schleicher, the director for education and skills for the OECD, said in a statement.

The educational decline in America amounts to nearly a year and a half lapse in instruction compared to 2015, the Department of Education reported in a press release, noting that 70% of American fourth and eighth graders cannot read proficiently.

One day after the report and survey were released, the Department announced a “refocusing” of its largest fiscal year 2027 grants to prioritize literacy, specifically phonics instruction across the states. 

“Federal dollars are no longer flowing on autopilot,” the release states. “Nor is taxpayer money being expended to drive the divisive DEI efforts of the prior Administration that detract from fundamental priorities like literacy.”

The initiative also includes “toolkits for teachers” to assist in K-3 reading comprehension and interventions for grades 6-8.

“Rather than spending hard-earned taxpayer dollars on ineffective initiatives or DEI-laden programs, the Trump Administration is making sure every dollar spent supports effective, evidence-based literacy instruction,” it reads.