Results from the 2015 PDK/Gallup poll on attitudes toward public schools are in, showing that Americans believe there is too much emphasis on standardized testing, and they rank standardized testing lower than other approaches to measuring student progress such as examples of student work, grades awarded by the teacher, or written observations by the teacher.

The biggest problem facing school? Lack of financial support.

The 1,001 people polled opposed using standardized test scores for evaluating teachers; they split on whether parents ought to be able to opt kids out of standardized testing; and a majority oppose vouchers and using Common Core standards to guide what teachers teach

You can read results and details here.

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Uta Thomas picks up her son, Jax, during a public hearing in Atlanta on Wednesday, November 5, 2025. She implored the school board not to close Dunbar Elementary. 
"You would centralize education to decentralized families," she said. "You would break apart a community hub." (Abbey Cutrer / AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com

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Passengers wait at a Delta check-in counter at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport domestic terminal on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, the first day of the Federal Aviation Administration cutting flight capacity at airports during the government shutdown. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com