Only 28 percent of Americans have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the public education system according to a Gallup poll.
The sharp decline marks the second-lowest all time record for public education confidence in America — 26 percent in 2014. Twenty-eight percent, down from 41 percent in 2020, also shows a slight decline from 29 percent from 2019.
The partisan divide on the question, however, is stark and reveals a fundamental disagreement among Americans as to the worth of the system.
While Democrats clock in as having a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the system at 43 percent confidence — a drop from 48 percent in 2020 — Republican support plummeted from 34 percent to 14 percent in the same timeframe. Independents dropped nine points to 29 percent.
Gallup reports this partisan divide as massive in the history of its polling the question — starting in 1973 — that over time saw an average of a nine percent difference.
In 2021, there was a 23 percent divide, but the highest divide prior to the pandemic and the revelation of nefarious indoctrination tactics used by schools against America’s children was 13 percent in 2013 — something Gallup contributes to the disagreements over Common Core education standards.
Public schools continue to shed students as more parents opt for other alternatives, including homeschooling. https://t.co/jeCT2gVWB5
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The poll also shows half of Republicans having little or no faith in the public education system — a 19-point increase from 2019.
Status as a parent did not diverge confidence significantly, with parents with a child under 18 years old trusting the system at 29 percent and non-parents similarly distrusting the system at 28 percent.
Along with critical race theory and gender ideology being exposed in school districts across the country, further exacerbating the partisan divide is disagreements about “virtual learning” and the masking of children, both of which contributed to significant learning loss, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among America’s school children.
Despite the divide, Republicans still rank the issue of education low on their ratings of most important issues facing the country, clocking in at about one percent — favoring inflation, abortion, and guns.
However, many Republicans now view education and school boards as a fruitful political battle ground.
Breccan F. Thies is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @BreccanFThies.
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