Ninety-two percent of Americans say obtaining a quality education is an important part of the American Dream, yet most give the nation's K-12 schools low marks on fundamental goals like teaching critical thinking and preparing students for the workforce. Those findings come from the second wave of the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream-Gallup American Dream Study, a nationally representative survey of more than 6,300 U.S. adults conducted between January 7 and March 4, 2026. The research reveals a striking gap between how much Americans value education and how they rate school performance—and it shows that people with favorable views of schools are far more optimistic about the future of the American Dream.
Between 54% and 64% of Americans give K-12 schools fair or poor ratings across five key goals, depending on which goal is measured. Only 16% to 19% rate schools as excellent or very good on these measures. The contrast is sharpest for teaching critical thinking and problem-solving skills: 88% of Americans consider this a very important goal—the highest of the five—while just 17% rate K-12 schools as excellent or very good on it, creating a 71-point gap. Similar divides appear for other goals, with gaps ranging from 57 to 61 percentage points between the share calling each goal very important and the share rating performance as excellent or very good. These critical views align with broader trends: in a 2026 Gallup survey, only 32% of Americans said they were satisfied with the quality of K-12 education in the U.S., the lowest level since tracking began in 1999. Personal views are more positive, though—58% of Americans say they've personally obtained a quality education, and 57% say they currently have access to quality education for themselves and their family.
According to the report, younger adults give schools more favorable ratings than older Americans: 25% of adults aged 18 to 29 rate schools as excellent or very good at teaching critical thinking, compared with 12% of adults aged 70 and older. Those with direct connections to the K-12 system are also more positive—26% of adults who work in education give schools an excellent or very good rating on this goal, compared with 17% of those who don't work in education. Among parents of children aged six to 18, 24% rate schools favorably on teaching critical thinking, compared with 15% of adults without children. The report notes that Americans with higher educational attainment place greater importance on teaching critical thinking but are less satisfied with how well schools perform that function: 95% of postgraduates say it's a very important goal, compared with 82% of those with a high school education or less, yet only 11% of postgraduates rate schools as excellent or very good at it, compared with 25% of those with a high school education or less.
The report explains that favorable views of schools connect directly to optimism about the American Dream's future. Americans who rated schools excellent or very good on at least three of five goals are far more likely to say they're optimistic about the Dream's future—65% versus 38% of others. The same pattern holds for other forward-looking measures: those rating schools favorably are more likely to agree that everyone has the opportunity to achieve the Dream (61% versus 43%) and that the next generation will have more opportunities than they had (68% versus 40%). This link persists even after controlling for age, education, political party, financial circumstances, general optimism, and other factors—those with the most favorable ratings of K-12 schools have more than three times the odds of agreeing they're optimistic about the Dream's future. The research mirrors a broader pattern found throughout Gallup's studies: Americans tend to be more positive when they have more direct or personal experience with an issue, whether that's confidence in achieving the Dream personally or ratings of schools they're connected to.
The report concludes that education remains a widely valued source of opportunity in Americans' conception of the American Dream, even as most give K-12 schools low ratings on the educational goals they consider most important. Education and learning ranks third among the areas Americans say the U.S. should prioritize over the next 50 years to help future generations have opportunities to achieve the Dream. The findings point to advancing excellence and innovation in K-12 education as a potential area of focus for widening access to the Dream. Since those who view schools favorably are also more likely to be optimistic about the future, improving school performance on core goals could reshape not just educational outcomes but Americans' broader confidence in opportunity itself.