Common Ground • August 15th, 2022

Here's Where Democrats and Republicans Agree on Education Policy

Common Ground,Bipartisanship,Education,School Choice,Higher Education,Public Schools

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Education is an issue that touches everyone – and can easily be divisive, especially when it comes to matters like whether teachers should be allowed to conceal information from parents about their child. So, where do Americans agree on education policy?

Parents and teachers are extremely passionate about making sure their children get the best quality education – they just don’t always agree on how to do it. Was remote learning safe or harmful? Are teachers’ unions necessary or detrimental? Should kids learn about LGBTQ topics and issues in schools?

Still, there are some aspects of education almost everyone can agree on. Here are a few examples of data and stories to support that:

2024 RealClear Poll results show strong support for school choice among voters: 76% overall favor candidates backing it. This support spans party lines, with 86% of Republicans, 77% of Democrats, and 67% of Independents indicating they are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports school choice.
76% of Democrats, 77% of Independents, and 74% of Republicans agree on the following: “My child’s school does a good job keeping me informed about the curriculum, including potentially controversial topics,” according to Ipsos 2022 data.
52% of Republicans, 70% of Democrats, and 51% of Independents support capping student-to-staff ratios in schools. This comes from Data for Progress (Left).
65% of Republicans and 60% of Democrats think high school grades should play a major factor in college admissions. Only 47% of Republicans and 34% of Democrats think standardized testing should be a major factor in college admissions, according to Pew Research’s (Center bias) 2022 data.
73% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans support annual testing, according to 2022 data from Education Next.
77% of Republicans and 92% of Democrats who think higher education is headed in the wrong direction believe that tuition costs are too high, according to 2019 Pew data.
77% of Democrats and 76% of Republicans say we should increase investments in trade schools and other alternatives to college, according to YouGov polls.
One in three Americans (33%) recommends high school graduates attend a trade school or vocational school over a traditional college, according to a 2025 Workforce Monitor survey.
According to 2023 YouGov data, Support for offering free lunch to all students varied across party lines. A majority of Democrats, 68%, endorsed the proposal, followed by 62% of Independents, and 47% of Republicans in favor.
A survey by the American Bankers Association found that 89% of Americans support financial literacy mandates in schools, teaching students about saving, taxes, loans, and credit.
According to 2024 Gallup data, only 36% of Americans have a great deal of trust in American higher education. 78% of Americans have little trust in higher education either due to the perception of political agendas being pushed or the wrong things being taught.
According to 2023 Ipsos data, Eighty-one percent of Americans believe teachers should, at a minimum, be equipped to address student questions about race, gender, and sexual orientation. While this viewpoint holds majority support across political affiliations, Democrats (96%) exhibit higher agreement compared to independents (76%) and Republicans (67%).