For the third year in a row, the Walton Family Foundation partnered with Gallup to ask students to grade their schools. More than 1,500 students across America graded schools on 10 key areas directly related to a student’s school experience, including quality of teaching and career preparedness. Parents also weighed in this year, adding a valuable perspective on how well schools support students for their future.
America’s schools received an average grade of B, up from a B- the last two years, showing promising signs of progress. Students continued to give higher marks in areas like strong teacher-student relationships, core academic support, and year-to-year readiness. Alternatively, career exploration, excitement about learning, and personalized instruction remained among the lowest-rated. The results underscore that while improvements have been made, gaps still exist.
Connections with teachers, core academic support, and year-to-year readiness continue to be bright spots in U.S. K-12 education.
The highest-rated aspects of school included: preparing students for the next school year (B or 3.01), support in core subjects like math and reading (B or 2.96), and quality of student-teacher relationships (B or 2.96). Building on these strengths year after year is essential. It not only keeps students on track academically, but ensures they’re prepared for the future beyond school.
Schools still struggle in the areas most critical to students’ futures and day-to-day experience.
Career exploration (B- or 2.54) and excitement about learning (B- or 2.54) received the lowest ratings overall, closely followed by adapting to students’ unique learning needs (B- or 2.59). A higher percentage of students awarded A grades for how well schools teach skills relevant to their futures, making it the area with the most significant increase since 2024. Still, this remains one of the lowest-rated topics overall, with an average score of 2.65 (B-). These results point to persistent gaps in the areas many students say matter most.
Despite overall improvement, race, income, geography, and ability continue to shape students’ experiences.
While school ratings have improved overall, disparities by race, income, geography, and ability remain. Every student deserves an excellent education. By listening to students’ and parents’ experiences, building on strengths, and focusing on areas for improvement, America’s schools can achieve an A+ experience for all.
