Fast-forward to 2025. Public satisfaction with schools is the lowest ever recorded. In a recent Gallup survey, respondents were asked to name our nation’s most important problem. Three percentsaid education. Back in 2000, it was five times that many and education topped the list of concerns, beating out perennial hits like crime and taxes.
During last year’s presidential campaign, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris barely discussed education on the stump and were not asked about their plans in debates.3
Let’s face it: Education is an also-ran issue. Given that student outcomes are mired in a long depression, that’s worrisome.
How did we get here?
Education’s run as a top public concern was relatively brief, as Rick Hess and others have pointed out. There are several possible explanations for its decline: