


Out for summer, out till fall — they might not want to come back at all.
A survey released by Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation found that American schools earned a B- overall when graded by the students who attend the institutions.
The report is based on 2,062 responses received between late April and early May from students in fifth through 12th grade at public, charter and private schools in the US.
Two-thirds of students graded their school overall an A or a B, about a quarter gave their school a C, and one-tenth scored their school a D or F.
Students are the most concerned about the lack of their school’s ability to inspire excitement about learning, cater to different styles of learning, teach about potential careers and support students’ mental health. Concerns many educators, parents and politicians also have.
Book bans, which most Americans oppose, and different learning techniques, such as phonics, have been heavily debated in recent years as children’s test scores in social studies, math and reading have all plummeted since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the “Nations Report Card.”
This comes as the nation reportedly has a teacher shortage crisis and alarming rates of poor mental health among school-aged children.
On a good note, students are most satisfied with their school’s safety and respect for individuality.
School safety is an increasing concern as the threat of school shootings continues to grow. This year is on track to set a new record for the most mass shootings, according to Education Week, which reports there have already been 24 school shootings that resulted in injuries or deaths.
There have been 168 such shootings since 2018 when Education Week began tracking the incidents, and just last year, 51 school shootings caused injuries or deaths — the most recorded in a single year.
As gun laws and school safety are hotly debated subjects, so is the topic of children’s individuality.
Georgia’s Professional Standards Commission recently voted to ban the words “equity,” “inclusion,” “diversity” and “diverse” from teacher preparation standards. And the question of how to handle gender-transitioning students in the classroom continues to be debated.
Middle school students at public schools perceive their institutions more positively than their high school peers across all metrics. However, black students of all ages rated their schools much lower compared to their classmates of other races.
The study also found a correlation between students’ academic performance and their ratings.
The highest-performing students were much more likely than under-performing students to give their school A’s and B’s in various categories.
“Whether because of the challenges schools faced during three years of dire disruption to learning during the pandemic or longer-term issues, there is clearly room for improvement,” the researchers wrote.