WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. K-12 students from Generation Z (now in grades six through 12) are more positive about the schools they attend than they have been in the past two years, according to the annual Walton Family Foundation and Gallup Student Report Card. This year, students give their schools a B grade overall, on average, compared with a B- in both 2023 and 2024.
Seventy-one percent of students now grade their school an A or B overall, up from 66% in 2023 and 64% in 2024. Almost one-third (31%) give their school an A grade this year, compared with 22% in 2023 and 26% in 2024.
The 2025 grades translate to an average GPA of 2.92 overall (equivalent to a B grade) on a 0-to-4 scale.
Parents’ ratings of their Gen Z child’s school mirror this improvement. Forty percent of parents rate their child’s school as an A, up from 33% in 2024. The average parent grade is 3.13, also a B, up from 3.02 last year.
These results are based on the third annual Walton Family Foundation-Gallup Student Report Card, a component of the larger Voices of Gen Z Study, which continually explores this generation’s lives and educational experiences. In addition to having Gen Z students rate their school overall, students rated 10 different aspects of their school’s performance.
The report card is based on a May 16-27 survey of 1,551 students and their parents, conducted via web using the probability-based Gallup Panel. All students interviewed for this research are members of Gen Z between the ages of 13 and 18 and currently enrolled in grades six through 12 at a public, charter or private middle school or high school in the U.S.
Black, Hispanic Students Show Larger Increases in School Ratings
Students across most key subgroups grade their school significantly better overall this year than in 2024. Grades have improved more among Black and Hispanic students than among White and Asian students. Asian students continue to give higher scores than other racial/ethnic groups, although the gap between Asian students and Black or Hispanic students is now narrower.
High school students (grades nine through 12) also show a sharp improvement in their grading, while middle school students do not. High school students now rate their schools more positively than middle school students do.
The average overall school grade given by students who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals (those in households with incomes at or below 185% of the federal poverty level) has improved much more sharply than the grade given by students who are not eligible.
School Grades Up on All Dimensions
Gen Z students grade their school’s performance on 10 different dimensions related to learning, instruction and preparation in the B to B- range. Students are most positive about their school preparing them for the next academic year, their school’s instruction in core subjects like math and reading, and the quality of their relationships with their teachers.
On each of the dimensions asked in 2024 and 2025, grades are significantly improved from last year. The biggest improvements are in the four areas that ranked lowest in 2024: helping students figure out what type of career they would like to have, the school teaching skills relevant to the student’s future, making students excited about learning, and adapting instruction to the student’s learning style. Despite the gains, these dimensions still rank at the bottom of schools’ evaluations.
Asian students generally rate their school better than other racial/ethnic groups on all of the dimensions, but particularly for preparing them for education after high school, preparing them for their next year of schooling, the quality of relationships with their teachers, and making them excited about learning. The average grades that Asian students assign their school in these areas are at least 0.20 points higher than those of students of other racial/ethnic groups.
Black students’ evaluations of their school for using new technology to aid in their learning are as positive as those given by Asian students. Schools’ use of technology is one area where non-Hispanic White students’ grades lag those of other racial/ethnic groups. White students also grade their schools less positively than other groups for making them excited about learning and teaching them in ways adapted to their unique learning style.
Implications
U.S. schools and parents can be pleased that Gen Z K-12 students are more positive about the schools they attend now than they were the past two years. Much of the improvement is seen among segments of the student population that previously gave lower ratings.
Additionally, schools’ grades have improved in aspects of education that they formerly did not rate as well, including longer-term learning objectives focused on career preparation. Still, there remains room for improvement, with schools receiving the equivalent of B or B- grades in most areas. A key for the coming years is whether schools can consolidate this improvement or build upon it to push scores even higher.
Students’ improved outlook on their school’s performance, however, means little if it does not translate to higher student achievement in the classroom. Recent student assessments from 2024 do not show meaningful gains in student math and reading performance, particularly when compared with testing data from 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted learning. Whether the greater student positivity measured in this year’s Student Report Card is associated with improved student outcomes may not be known until 2025 or later administrations of student learning assessments.
Learn more about how the Voices of Gen Z survey works.
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Learn more about how the Gallup Panel works.
