U.S. Superintendents Excited About Their District's Future

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- K-12 students returning to class this fall are being welcomed back by leaders who are optimistic about the future of their school district. Eighty-five percent of U.S. public school district superintendents agree or strongly agree that they are excited about their district's future. These attitudes are largely unchanged from 2015, when 86% responded positively to the same question.

	2015	2017
	%	%
5 / Strongly agree	52	55
4	34	30
3	9	9
2	4	4
1 / Strongly disagree	2	2
Gallup

These results are based on interviews with more than 2,300 public school district superintendents in the U.S., conducted June 15-July 9 as part of Gallup's 2017 Survey of K-12 School District Superintendents.

While school leaders are largely positive about their local situation, this optimism is much harder to find in their opinions of the overall K-12 public education system. About one in three superintendents agree or strongly agree that they are excited about the future of U.S. public education, down sharply from 44% just two years ago. The percentage who either disagree or strongly disagree is up from 24% to 38%, with those most negative about the future of the nation's public school system increasing from 6% to 15%.

	2015	2017
	%	%
5 / Strongly agree	14	12
4	30	20
3	33	30
2	18	23
1 / Strongly disagree	6	15
Gallup

Several factors influence leaders' opinions about the future of education. The latest Gallup survey of superintendents suggests that the most pressing challenges facing school districts are changing.

In the past four years, concern has risen among school leaders about improving the academic performance of underprepared students, and this is now the top concern of those tested. Fiscal challenges remain a significant source of concern for superintendents, as was the case in 2013. Superintendents also report high levels of concern about the effects of poverty on student learning (a question asked for the first time in 2017). Complete results for all issues tested this year appear at the end of this article.

At the same time, concern about meeting rising demands for assessment from the state and federal level has moved down in the rankings. Possibly related to this, revamping curriculum is also less of a concern for school leaders than it was in 2013 -- a time when the Common Core State Standards and new federal legislation increased attention on student assessments.

	Strongly agree/ Agree, 2013	Strongly agree/ Agree, 2017	Change
	%	%	pct. pts.
Improving the academic performance of underprepared students	76	81	+5
Budget shortfalls	73	73	0
Strengthening academic rigor	71	66	-5
Rising demands for assessment from the state and federal level	82	64	-18
Better preparing students for higher education	62	59	-3
Revamping curriculum	69	50	-19
Preparing students for engaged citizenship	51	50	-1
Gallup

Bottom Line

Public school superintendents begin the new school year optimistic about their own local district, although they are less confident in the nation's schools overall. Local district leaders still struggle to manage difficult fiscal situations and are increasingly focused on the challenges of reducing achievement gaps for underperforming students and addressing the needs of students in poverty. These and other challenges will continue to have the attention of leaders as the nation's students return to school.

About the Study

Gallup developed this research study of K-12 superintendents of public school districts in the U.S. to understand their opinions on important topics and policy issues facing education. Since 2013, Gallup has conducted the survey at least annually. The 2017 report addresses a variety of issues, including:

• the workplace engagement of superintendents
• human capital needs in the district, such as recruiting, selecting and retaining talented teachers and principals
• factors in teacher performance evaluations
• federal, state and local education policy issues
• superintendent-board relations

The full report [updated for 2018] is available for download here.

	Strongly agree	4	3	2	Strongly disagree
	%	%	%	%	%
Improving the academic performance of underprepared students	42	39	14	5	<1
The effects of poverty on student learning	48	26	17	6	2
Budget shortfalls	52	21	15	9	3
Strengthening academic rigor	22	44	23	8	2
Rising demands for assessment from the state and federal level	31	33	25	9	1
Better preparing students for higher education	17	42	25	10	2
Revamping curriculum	14	36	33	14	3
Preparing students for engaged citizenship	12	38	35	11	3
Gallup