While Americans say their nation’s colleges compare relatively well with those in other countries, they offer more negative assessments of U.S. public schools.
In the week after the Oct. 1 mass shooting in Las Vegas, partisan differences were on full display in how elected officials responded on Facebook.
Despite double-digit decreases in U.S. violent and property crime rates since 2008, most voters say crime has gotten worse during that span.
Over the past year, there has been a substantial rise in the share of Americans — across racial and ethnic groups — who say the country needs to continue making changes to give blacks equal rights with whites.
The public sees a number of contributing factors for the outbreak of violence and unrest in Baltimore last week, and most say it was the right decision to charge some Baltimore police officers in the death of Freddie Gray.
Race and community relations have become the focal point of tension in a series of incidents over the past year.
In December 2014, the balance of opinion flipped: For the first time, more Americans say protecting gun rights (52%) is more important than controlling gun ownership (46%).
Support for gun rights has edged up from earlier this year, and marks a shift in attitudes since shortly after the Newtown school shootings. For the first time in our surveys, there is more support for gun rights than gun control.
More Americans support the grand jury decision in the Eric Garner case than in the death of Michael Brown. There are wide racial differences in reactions to both.
One of the most persistent gaps between blacks and whites involves their levels of confidence in police.
