{"id":11419,"date":"2018-05-17T07:00:07","date_gmt":"2018-05-17T12:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/%year%\/%monthnum%\/%day%\/americans-say-u-s-colleges-make-the-grade-but-many-say-public-schools-dont-measure-up\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:15:31","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:15:31","slug":"americans-say-u-s-colleges-make-the-grade-but-many-say-public-schools-dont-measure-up","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2018\/05\/17\/americans-say-u-s-colleges-make-the-grade-but-many-say-public-schools-dont-measure-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Americans say U.S. colleges make the grade, but many say public schools don\u2019t measure up"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><a href='https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/06\/FT_18.06.11_diversity_educational-divide.png'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"277\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/06\/FT_18.06.11_diversity_educational-divide.png?w=277\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium not-transparent\" alt=\"Sizable educational divide over impact of growing diversity; smaller differences by age, race\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/06\/FT_18.06.11_diversity_educational-divide.png 420w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/06\/FT_18.06.11_diversity_educational-divide.png?resize=277,300 277w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/06\/FT_18.06.11_diversity_educational-divide.png?resize=160,173 160w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/06\/FT_18.06.11_diversity_educational-divide.png?resize=374,405 374w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/06\/FT_18.06.11_diversity_educational-divide.png?resize=200,217 200w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/06\/FT_18.06.11_diversity_educational-divide.png?resize=260,282 260w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/06\/FT_18.06.11_diversity_educational-divide.png?resize=310,336 310w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 277px) 100vw, 277px\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" data-dominant-color=\"edeae0\" style=\"--dominant-color: #edeae0;\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_302650\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-302650\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a class=\"image-box\" href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2018\/05\/17\/americans-say-u-s-colleges-make-the-grade-but-many-say-public-schools-dont-measure-up\/los-angeles-times-2\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-302650\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-photo size-full wp-image-302650\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/FT_18.05.16_CollegeSchoolsViews_feature.jpg\" alt=\"(Al Seib\/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"320\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-302650\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Al Seib\/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright\"><a class=\"image-box\" href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2018\/05\/17\/americans-say-u-s-colleges-make-the-grade-but-many-say-public-schools-dont-measure-up\/ft_18-05-15_viewseducation_usuniversities\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-302583\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e9e3d4\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e9e3d4;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"310\" height=\"470\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/05\/FT_18.05.15_viewsEducation_USuniversities.png?resize=310,470 310w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" class=\"wp-image-21944 not-transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/05\/FT_18.05.15_viewsEducation_USuniversities.png\" alt=\"\" ><\/a><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Americans say their nation\u2019s colleges and universities compare relatively well with those in other developed countries \u2013 but the public offers more negative assessments of the state of U.S. public schools.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About half of U.S. adults say the country\u2019s colleges and universities are either the \u201cbest in the world\u201d (16%) or \u201cabove average\u201d (35%) compared with those in other developed nations, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2018\/04\/26\/the-public-the-political-system-and-american-democracy\/\">recent Pew Research Center report<\/a>. By comparison, just 18% say U.S. public schools rank above average or higher internationally, while 41% of Americans say public schools are below average (37% rate them as average).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On many measures of how the United States fares relative to other countries, <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2018\/04\/26\/1-democracy-and-government-the-u-s-political-system-elected-officials-and-governmental-institutions\/#americans-give-their-political-system-mixed-grades\">Republicans are more likely than Democrats<\/a> to view the nation as performing better. This extends to views of the country\u2019s public schools.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><!--more--><\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright\"><a class=\"image-box\" href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2018\/05\/17\/americans-say-u-s-colleges-make-the-grade-but-many-say-public-schools-dont-measure-up\/ft_18-05-15_viewseducation_demsreps\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-302584\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e9e5db\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e9e5db;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"310\" height=\"452\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/05\/FT_18.05.15_viewsEducation_DemsReps.png?resize=310,452 310w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" class=\"wp-image-21945 not-transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2018\/05\/FT_18.05.15_viewsEducation_DemsReps.png\" alt=\"\" ><\/a><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though few in either party say U.S. public schools are the best in the world or above average among developed nations, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (22%) are more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners (14%) to say this. And Democrats are substantially more likely than Republicans to say U.S. public schools underperform their international counterparts: Nearly half of Democrats (47%) say U.S. public schools are below average compared with schools in other developed nations, while just 34% of Republicans say the same.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Liberal Democrats offer particularly critical evaluations of the nation\u2019s public schools relative to those in other countries, with 56% saying U.S. public schools are below average (compared with 38% of conservatives and moderates in the party).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notably, there are no partisan or ideological gaps in evaluations of American colleges and universities. Roughly half of Democrats and Democratic leaners (54%) and a similar share of Republicans and Republican leaners (51%) say U.S. postsecondary institutions are above average or the best in the world.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although there is not a significant partisan gap in views of how American higher education compares with that of other countries, <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2017\/07\/10\/sharp-partisan-divisions-in-views-of-national-institutions\/\">previous research<\/a> by the Center has shown that Democrats are considerably more likely than Republicans to say colleges and universities have a positive effect on the country \u2013 and GOP views have shifted more negative over the past few years.<\/p>\n\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/07\/10093922\/1_3.png\" width=\"420\" height=\"379\"><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2017, just 36% of Republicans and Republican leaners said colleges and universities have a positive effect on the way things are going in the country, an 18-percentage-point decline from two years prior. By contrast, 72% of Democrats and Democratic leaners said colleges and universities have a positive effect, which was little changed from prior years.<\/p>\n\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-photo size-full wp-image-302585 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/FT_18.05.15_viewsEducation_thermometer.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" height=\"634\"><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This partisan dynamic also extends to views of college professors. On a \u201cfeeling thermometer\u201d ranging from 0 to 100, a <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2017\/09\/13\/partisans-differ-widely-in-views-of-police-officers-college-professors\/\">Pew Research Center study last fall<\/a> found that Republicans gave professors an average rating of 46, compared with an average rating of 71 among Democrats.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the same survey, Americans across the political spectrum rated teachers warmly, though there were still significant differences by party. While Republicans gave teachers an average rating of 72, Democrats gave teachers an average rating of 86.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Note: See full <a href=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/04\/26112459\/Democracy-topline-for-release.pdf\">topline results<\/a> and methodology <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2018\/05\/03\/trump-viewed-less-negatively-on-issues-but-most-americans-are-critical-of-his-conduct\/2\/#methodology\">here<\/a> (PDF).<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While Americans say their nation\u2019s colleges compare relatively well with those in other countries, they offer more negative assessments of U.S. public schools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":386,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"apple_news_api_pending":"1713063629","relatedPosts":[],"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0},"categories":[],"bylines":[964,828],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[467],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[515],"research-teams":[520],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-11419","short-read","type-short-read","status-publish","hentry","bylines-jocelyn-kiley","bylines-kristen-bialik","formats-short-read","regions-countries-united-states","research-teams-politics"],"label":"Short 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