--- title: "6. Teachers’ views on the state of public K-12 education" description: "82% of public K-12 teachers say the overall state of public K-12 education has gotten worse in recent years; many say politics is a major reason." date: "2024-04-04" authors: - name: "Luona Lin" job_title: "Research Associate" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/luona-lin/" - name: "Kim Parker" job_title: "Director, Social Trends Research" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/kim-parker/" - name: "Juliana Menasce Horowitz" job_title: "Senior Associate Director, Research" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/juliana-menasce-horowitz/" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/04/04/teachers-views-on-the-state-of-public-k-12-education/" --- # 6. Teachers’ views on the state of public K-12 education Overall, teachers have a negative view of the U.S. K-12 education system – both the path it’s been on in recent years and what its future might hold. The vast majority of teachers (82%) say that the overall state of public K-12 education has gotten worse in the last five years. Only 5% say it’s gotten better, and 11% say it has gotten neither better nor worse. [![Pie charts showing that most teachers say public K-12 education has gotten worse over the past 5 years.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/ST_24.04.04_teacher-survey_06_01.png?w=640)](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/04/04/teachers-views-on-the-state-of-public-k-12-education/st_24-04-04_teacher-survey_06_01-png/) Looking to the future, 53% of teachers expect the state of public K-12 education to be worse five years from now. One-in-five say it will get better, and 16% expect it to be neither better nor worse. We asked teachers who say the state of public K-12 education is worse now than it was five years ago how much each of the following has contributed: - The current political climate (60% of teachers say this is a *major reason* that the state of K-12 education has gotten worse) - The lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic (57%) - Changes in the availability of funding and resources (46%) Elementary school teachers are especially likely to point to resource issues – 54% say changes in the availability of funding and resources is a major reason the K-12 education system is worse now. By comparison, 41% of middle school and 39% of high school teachers say the same. #### Differences by party [![A dot plot showing that, among teachers, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say the current political climate is a major reason K-12 education has gotten worse.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/ST_24.04.04_teacher-survey_06_02.png?w=640)](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/04/04/teachers-views-on-the-state-of-public-k-12-education/st_24-04-04_teacher-survey_06_02-png/) Overall, teachers who are Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are as likely as Republican and Republican-leaning teachers to say that the state of public K-12 education is worse than it was five years ago. But Democratic teachers are more likely than Republican teachers to point to the current political climate (65% vs. 54%) and changes in the availability of funding and resources (50% vs. 40%) as major reasons. Democratic and Republican teachers are equally likely to say that lasting effects of the pandemic are a major reason that the public K-12 education is worse than it was five years ago (57% each). ### K-12 education and political parties [![A diverging bar chart showing that about a third or more of teachers trust neither party to do a better job on a range of educational issues.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/ST_24.04.04_teacher-survey_06_03.png?w=640)](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/04/04/teachers-views-on-the-state-of-public-k-12-education/st_24-04-04_teacher-survey_06_03-png/) We asked teachers which political party they trust to do a better job on various aspects of public K-12 education. Across each of the issues we asked about, roughly a third or more of teachers say they don’t trust *either* party to do a better job. In particular, a sizable share (42%) trust neither party when it comes to shaping the school curriculum. On balance, more teachers say they trust the Democratic Party to do a better job handling the things we asked about than say they trust the Republican Party. About a third of teachers say they trust the Democratic Party to do a better job in ensuring adequate funding for schools, adequate pay and benefits for teachers, and equal access to high quality K-12 education for students. Only about one-in-ten teachers say they trust the Republican Party to do a better job in these areas. A quarter of teachers say they trust the Democratic Party to do a better job in shaping the school curriculum and making schools safer; 11% and 16% of teachers, respectively, say they trust the Republican Party in these areas. Across all the items we asked about, shares ranging from 15% to 17% say they are not sure which party they trust more, and shares ranging from 4% to 7% say they trust both parties equally. A majority of public K-12 teachers (58%) identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party. About a third (35%) identify with or lean toward the GOP. #### Differences by party [![A bar chart showing that Republican teachers more likely to say they trust neither political party to handle many aspects of K-12 education.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/03/ST_24.04.04_teacher-survey_06_04.png?w=640)](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/04/04/teachers-views-on-the-state-of-public-k-12-education/st_24-04-04_teacher-survey_06_04-png/) For each aspect of the education system we asked about, both Democratic and Republican teachers are more likely to say they trust *their own party* to do a better job than to say they trust the other party. However, across most of these areas, Republican teachers are more likely to say they trust *neither* party than to say they trust their own party. For example, about four-in-ten Republican teachers say they trust *neither* party when it comes to ensuring adequate funding for schools and equal access to high quality K-12 education for students. Only about a quarter of Republican teachers say they trust their own party on these issues. The noteworthy exception is making schools safer, where similar shares of Republican teachers trust *their own party* (41%) and neither party (35%) to do a better job. --- **Next:** [Acknowledgments](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2024/04/04/teacher-survey-acknowledgments.md)