Continued support for teachers; growing support for four-day school week: Findings from the 55th annual PDK poll

Abstract

The 55th Annual PDK Poll finds that a wide majority (66%) of adults say teachers should have a substantial say in what’s taught in public schools, more than say so about school boards, local residents, or lawmakers. Support for teachers also is apparent in another result from the 2023 PDK Poll: 67% of respondents support increasing local teacher salaries by raising property taxes. That result reflects the public’s broad sense that public school teachers are undervalued, underpaid, and overworked. At the same time, more than half of Americans support shifting to a four-day school week in their community, nearly twice as many as said so two decades ago. And structurally, beyond a four-day week, the poll finds that about six in 10 adults support other changes in how schools operate — longer school days and/or a longer school year — as ways to try to improve student learning outcomes. On another topic, results show widespread support for schools conducting mental health assessments of students. The survey was produced by Langer Research Associates for PDK International, with data collected June 16-25, 2023, in English and Spanish, among a representative, random national sample of 1,002 adults.