No matter which candidate is elected president on November 3, 2020, college students have clear ideas about what areas the new administration should focus on early in its term. Seventy percent of respondents in a recent survey of college students rated the economy highest when asked how much focus the new president should put on a number of issues. It was followed by healthcare (60%), education (57%) and alternative energy sources (52%). Americans put quality education at the top of their priority list and want their elected leaders to do the same. According to a national public opinion poll, education is a hot topic: Americans want their elected leaders to produce results, not rhetoric. They also want leaders who will make education funding recession-proof. The poll shows that Americans oppose any cuts in education funding, even at the cost of deep cuts in other services they deem essential, such as health care, social security, law enforcement, roads and transportation. When asked to name one or two priorities that the government should protect from spending cuts, 53 percent of Americans mention education and schools. That percentage is equal to the combined total of all other responses, including health care (18 percent), law enforcement (8 percent), Social Security (6 percent), and the military (2 percent). ). All major demographic categories, including seniors, support funding for education above any other spending priority. Americans, however, recognize that in the current economic climate there will be little or no new funding for education, especially at the state level. Nearly two-fifths (38 percent) of Americans would choose early childhood education as their first or second choice to protect themselves from budget cuts, followed by reduced class size (35 percent), teacher training (32 percent) and teacher pay (25 percent). ) ).

Education ranks second after the economy and jobs on the list of the public’s most serious concerns, surpassing even terrorism and security. Americans believe that quality education for all is a national priority. More than 4 in 5 (85 percent) say achieving this goal is personally important to them, and more than 9 in 10 (92 percent) Americans say providing all children with a quality education is an achievable goal not a chimera. . Americans care about school quality for practical reasons and out of concern for their community. They believe that quality public schools build stronger families (24 percent), improve the local economy (20 percent), and reduce crime rates (15 percent). Some 42 percent of Americans say their decisions about where to live were influenced by the quality of the community’s schools. We have made a national commitment to hold every student and every school accountable for measurable improvements in learning. Today it seems that every political candidate, whether running for a city council position, a seat in the state legislature, or a chance to go to Washington, claims to be an education candidate. But the public has very clear ideas about what education candidates should do and how elected officials will be held accountable. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of Americans say a candidate’s stance on education is one of the most important or very important factors influencing their vote. Even 59 percent of those without school-age children agree. Americans feel much more favorable toward candidates who believe educational decisions are best made by parents, teachers, and principals (88 percent); who understands education issues (87 percent); who will protect education from budget cuts (86 percent); and that they want education to focus on the basics (86 percent). By contrast, Americans are far less likely to favor candidates who suggest visionary programs without first explaining how they intend to fund and implement them (40 percent), support vouchers (39 percent), or favor giving mayors or city councils direct control over schools (38 percent). Americans have surprisingly consistent views on how to improve public education across the country. In each of the last two surveys, nearly a third of survey participants (29 percent) rated teacher quality as the most important factor in improving student learning, and equitable funding between rich and poor schools. poor was the second most important factor (16 percent) . In this year’s survey, 15 percent of Americans also cite quality early childhood education for all children as an important factor in improving student learning, 12 percent say class sizes are small and another 12 percent want all children to be able to read by fourth grade. . However, a scant 5 percent believe that using taxpayer dollars for private school options will improve the quality of education. One of the reasons Americans support quality teaching is that many are teachers or know teachers. Three in 10 Americans (29 percent) are teachers or have close family members who are current or former teachers. The poll results indicate that this group of “teachers” could be a powerful voting bloc; nearly three-quarters say a politician’s educational platform plays an important role in their voting choices. By comparison, roughly two-thirds of all Americans say that education plays an important role in their electoral choices. When it comes to evaluating school performance, voters value information about teacher quality (76%) and student literacy (74%) the most, followed by information about books and other learning tools (74%). ), school budgets (67%), comparisons of local schools to other schools in the state (66 percent), and school safety data (63 percent).

Other survey results:

– While surveyed college students rely on a wide range of sources for candidate information, by far the most popular are television (83% of students) and online news sites (73%). However, college students believe that the most reliable source of information is the political candidate’s website (26%), followed by television (23%).
– Direct mailings (12%) and blogs (10%) were the least used.
– 88% of eligible voters surveyed say they intend to vote in the next presidential election.

The national public opinion poll is based on a survey of 1,050 Americans of voting age. Includes analysis of a base of 800 voters and an oversample of 125 African American registered voters and 125 Latino registered voters. It also includes information from three focus groups of Whites, African Americans, and Latinos, with and without children. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percent.