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 to a recent survey of college students ranked the economy highest when asked how much focus the new president should put on a number of issues. They were followed by healthcare (60%), education (57%) and alternative energy sources (52%). Americans put quality education at the top of their list of priorities, and they 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 deliver results, not rhetoric. They also want leaders who 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 consider 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 education funding 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 is second only to the economy and employment on the list of most serious public 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 giving all children 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). About 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 each student and each school accountable for measurable improvements in learning. Today it seems that every political candidate, whether they are running for a city council seat, a state legislature seat, 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 a very important factor influencing their vote. Even 59 percent of those without school-age children agree. Americans feel much more favorable toward candidates who believe that educational decisions are best made by parents, teachers, and principals (88 percent); who understands educational 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 finance and implement them (40 percent), support vouchers (39 percent), or favor giving to mayors or city councils have direct control over schools (38 percent). Americans have surprisingly consistent views on how to improve public education across the country. In each of the past two surveys, nearly a third of survey participants (29 percent) ranked teacher quality as the most important factor in improving student learning, and equitable funding among wealthy schools and 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 small class sizes and another 12 percent want all children to be able to read by fourth grade. . However, a scant 5 percent believe that using taxpayer money 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 a significant role in their voting options. By comparison, about 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%) most highly, 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 data on school safety (63 percent).

Other survey results:

– While surveyed college students rely on a wide range of sources for information about candidates, by far the most popular are television (83% of students) and Internet news sites (73%). However, university students believe that the most reliable source of information is on 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 upcoming 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 registered African American voters and 125 registered Latino 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.