This year’s PDK poll explored a variety of timely topics related to public education. We recently sent out an informal poll to our student volunteers at Educators Rising, PDK International’s CTSO focused upon developing today’s students into tomorrow’s educators, borrowing questions from this year’s poll, which looked at the attitudes of the American public.

Teacher Pay

Do you believe that the teachers in your school or district are paid fairly, underpaid, or overpaid?

In our national poll, 1% of respondents believed that teacher pay was too high; 64% said it was too low, and 20% said it was just about right. In our student poll, 16.1% believed that teachers in their school or district are paid fairly, while 83.9% believed their teachers were underpaid.

Private or Religious Schools

If public funds were available to support your attendance at a private or religious school, would you or your family consider using them?

In this year’s PDK Poll, 41% of the public would keep their children in public school if monies were made available to be used in a private or religious school setting; 59% would probably send their child to the private or religious school. In our student poll, 15.6% of students would “definitely consider attending a private or religious school” while 68.8% would stay in public school. Another 15.6% would consider the private or religious option, depending upon how much funding was provided.

Grading the Schools

What grade would YOU give your high school in terms of its success in helping you prepare for life after graduation?

Grading the public and national schools has been a frequent question in past PDK Polls. This year, looking at schools within respondents’ own communities, 43% of the public gave their schools an A or B grade. For our student poll, 87.5% of our student responders would give their high school an A or B grade.

What grade do you feel YOUR PARENTS would give your high school, in terms of your academic progress and in terms of their access to your teachers and administrators?

Our student respondents report that they believe that 84.4% of their parents would give their school an A or B grade. These results are far more optimistic than our national results.

Elimination of the U.S. Department of Education

What do you think should happen to the U.S. Department of Education?

The 2025 PDK Poll revealed that 53% of the population strongly oppose closing or eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, an initiative underway at the current time by the Trump administration. By comparison, 22% support or strongly support the elimination of the federal department.

Our student poll revealed that 81% of students felt that schools and students need the Department and that it should stay open and fully staffed; 3.1% believe the department should be closed, with essential functions moved to the states or other federal agencies.

We want to thank our student responders for their time in answering these questions, related to this year’s PDK Poll. Each year, PDK International polls the general public on issues related to public education. This unscientific poll with students was done to help educate them about education issues and to illustrate where they may be aligned or not aligned with perceptions by adults respondents.

PDK’s Educators Rising is reimagining educator pathways and supports students interested in education-related careers through this year’s theme of teach with purpose, lead with passion.