Parents’ satisfaction with child’s education slips as classes move online: poll

Satisfaction with their children’s education is down 10 points in the last year among parents of K-12 students, according to new polling from Gallup.

A majority of parents still say they are satisfied with their children’s education, with 32 percent saying they are “completely” satisfied with their oldest child’s education and another 40 percent saying they are “somewhat” satisfied. However, one year ago 41 percent of parents said they were “completely” satisfied, according to the pollster.

The results come as numerous school districts have resolved to provide remote classes as the school year begins. The percentage of parents saying they will home-school their child this year has increased to 10 percent, a 5-point increase. The poll clearly distinguishes home schooling from distance learning, defining it as “not enrolled in a formal school, but taught at home.”

The survey found public schooling is the most common form of education, at 76 percent, a 7-point drop from 2019. Six percent of parents said their eldest child is enrolled in a private school, while 5 percent said they attend a charter school and 2 percent said they attend a parochial school.

Americans’ overall satisfaction with K-12 education remains stable and roughly even.

Fifty percent said they are satisfied with the state of K-12 education, while 48 percent said they are dissatisfied, numbers that are about the same as last year.

Satisfaction is significantly up from its all-time low of 36 percent in 2000 when it was a defining issue of the presidential election. Parents of K-12 students have consistently been more satisfied with their own child’s education than that of K-12 education in general.

Pollsters surveyed a random sample of 1,031 adults between July 30-Aug. 12. The total sample has a margin of error of 4 percentage points. The sample of 214 parents with children enrolled in K-12 schooling has a margin of error of 8 percentage points.