The Gallup Poll shows that not only can’t LA kids read at grade level, nationally the whole school experience is a bust, to wit:
- 32% of Americans satisfied with the quality of U.S. K-12 education
- K-12 schools rated worst on teaching critical thinking skills
- Record-low 66% of K-12 parents satisfied with child’s education
The dissatisfaction, reports Gallup is as historic as it should be troubling. K-12 satisfaction is down to 32%–even LA students would know that is less than half–which is a new low in Gallup’s 27 years. Dissatisfaction–do the math is 67%–a record high.
A bad sign; dissatisfaction has dropped 11% in the last two years.
So does anyone like the schools? “Although Democrats have often expressed higher satisfaction than Republicans with K-12 education dating back to 1999, Democrats are largely driving the recent drops in satisfaction. Since 2024, satisfaction among Democrats has fallen by 19 points, including by seven points over the past year, while independents’ satisfaction is down 10 points and Republicans’ is down six points.” Even Democrats the pro-teacher’s union, anti-school choice Dems aren’t satisfied.
Among the things schools do badly according to Gallup, critical thinking is at the bottom. Our form of government really demands that citizens be equipped and willing to think–and the ability to think critically should be taught, developed and nurtured in the public schools. Would it be too specualtive to think that rise of the DSA candidates in blue states says something about an absence of critical thinking?
You can read the report and judge for yourself, here.
AI helped compile this story
