Americans' confidence in the US public education system remains low amid an increasing divide between how Republicans and Democrats view public schools, according to a Gallup poll released Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2022) Americans' confidence in the US public education system remains low amid an increasing divide between how Republicans and Democrats view public schools, according to a Gallup poll released Thursday.
"Slightly over one-quarter of Americans, or 28%, claim to have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the public education system," a release on the poll said.
The figure is down from 32% last year and from 41% in 2020, during which there was a surge in support for schools in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report said.
The 28% figure is only two points above the all-time low of 26% in 2014, the release said.
The percentage of Republicans having a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in public schools fell from 34% in 2020 to 20% in 2021 and 14% today, the release also said.
"Since 2020, independents' confidence has declined nine percentage points to 29% and Democrats' has remained fairly high - currently 43%, versus 48% in 2020," the release added.
The gap between Republican and Democratic confidence in public education has averaged seven points since Gallup began studying institutional confidence in 1973, compared to a current gap of 29 points, according to the release.
