What Teachers Are Saying About the State of American Education.

There are many ways to measure the health of a school: test scores, graduation rates, discipline records, budgets, enrollment trends. But one of the most revealing measures is also one of the most human: what the teachers themselves believe about the students in front of them, the schools around them, and the profession they have chosen.

The May 2026 EdChoice/Morning Consult report, Teachers and K–12 Education, offers a revealing look into those perceptions. The findings do not merely show differences between public and private schools. They suggest two very different educational climates.

Across nearly every major category — morale, student progress, school culture, discipline, technology, durable skills, and support for school choice — private school teachers expressed greater confidence than their district school counterparts. The numbers are not always dramatic at first glance, but taken together, they tell a striking story: private school teachers are more hopeful about their schools, their students, and the future of education.[1]

The Morale Gap

One of the clearest contrasts appears in teacher morale. Private school teachers are far more likely to recommend teaching as a profession. In the report’s Net Promoter Score, private school teachers registered at -3, while district school teachers fell to -35. That is not a small gap. It means that public school teachers are far more likely to speak pessimistically about the profession itself. Only 18% of district school teachers were considered “promoters” of teaching, compared with 35% of private school teachers.[2]

This matters because teacher morale is not an isolated issue. A discouraged teacher does not merely carry discouragement home at the end of the day. That discouragement shapes the culture of the classroom, the expectations placed on students, and the sense of possibility within the school.

The morale gap also appears in teachers’ satisfaction with student learning. At first glance, private and district teachers seem relatively close: 83% of private school teachers said they were satisfied with student learning during the school year, compared to 81% of district teachers. But the intensity of that satisfaction tells a slightly different story. Thirty-seven percent of private school teachers said they were “very satisfied,” compared to only 30% of district school teachers.[3]

The same pattern becomes even clearer when teachers assess student progress. When asked about academic learning, 51% of private school teachers said their students were progressing “very well.” Among district school teachers, that number dropped to 29%. The gap was similar in social and emotional development: 36% of private school teachers said students were progressing “very well” socially, compared to 22% of district teachers; and 39% said students were progressing “very well” emotionally, compared to 22% of district teachers.[4]

That is one of the report’s most important findings. Education is never just about information transfer. Schools are forming habits, character, resilience, responsibility, and social awareness. On those measures, private school teachers appear far more confident that their schools are succeeding.[4]

Culture, Safety, and the Conditions for Learning

The differences continue in the area of school culture and safety. Private school teachers were more likely to say their schools handled mental health concerns, violent behavior, bullying, and gun-related issues well. Fifty-five percent of private school teachers believed their schools handled gun-related concerns well, compared to 48% of district teachers. Fifty-two percent said their schools handled mental health issues well, compared to only 37% in district schools. Fifty-three percent said violent behavior was addressed well, compared to 36% of district teachers, while 44% rated their school positively on bullying issues, compared to 34% of district teachers.[5]

These are not minor administrative details. They are foundational to learning. A school may have excellent curriculum, modern technology, and impressive facilities, but if teachers do not believe the environment is orderly, safe, and emotionally healthy, the learning process is already compromised.[5]

Technology offers another revealing contrast. Nearly half of district school teachers said students spend too much time using technology. Only 27% of private school teachers said the same. Private school teachers were also more likely to view laptops as having a positive effect on student learning, with 76% of private school teachers saying laptops had a positive impact compared to 66% of district school teachers.[6][7]

Even on artificial intelligence, district school teachers expressed greater concern than private school teachers about its impact on students. Forty-three percent of district school teachers were extremely or very concerned about AI affecting student learning, compared to only 32% of private school teachers.[8]

That difference may reflect something deeper than technology itself. It may point to the challenge of managing digital tools in large, complex systems where classroom control is already strained. Technology can be a tool for learning, but in the wrong environment, it quickly becomes a source of distraction, shortcut-taking, and behavioral difficulty.[6][8]

The Skills That Last

Perhaps the most significant difference in the report concerns what EdChoice calls “durable skills”: communication, critical thinking, teamwork, adaptability, and responsibility. These are the kinds of skills that shape future workers, citizens, leaders, spouses, parents, and church members. On this measure, the gap was substantial. Sixty-six percent of private school teachers rated their schools as excellent or very good at teaching durable skills. Only 39% of district school teachers said the same.[9]

That finding should not be passed over quickly. In a culture increasingly concerned about whether students are prepared for life beyond the classroom, private school teachers are saying that their schools are doing a stronger job forming the kinds of traits students will need long after they have forgotten many of the facts they memorized for a test.[9]

The report also reveals important philosophical differences. Private school teachers were generally more supportive of school choice policies, including Education Savings Accounts, vouchers, and charter schools.[10]

Support for Education Savings Accounts was high among both groups, with 78% of private school teachers and 74% of public school teachers supporting the policy after hearing a description.[10]

But the divide widened on vouchers. Seventy-two percent of private school teachers supported vouchers after hearing a description, while only 47% of public school teachers supported them.[11]

Charter schools also showed a substantial divide. Seventy-three percent of private school teachers supported charter schools after hearing a description, compared to 53% of public school teachers.[12]

That contrast is not surprising, but it is still important. Teachers who work outside the traditional district model appear more open to educational pluralism, parental choice, and competition among school models. District school teachers, by contrast, were more hesitant, especially when public dollars might follow students outside the district system.[10][11][12]

Two Different Educational Worlds

The funding data adds another layer. Teachers in both sectors underestimated actual per-pupil spending, but district school teachers underestimated it most dramatically. District teachers estimated public school spending at roughly $4,500 per student, while actual state averages exceed $16,000 nationally. Private school teachers estimated the number closer to $9,000.[13]

District teachers were also more likely to say funding was too low, especially before being shown actual spending statistics.[14]

Taken together, the report does not simply compare two categories of teachers. It reveals two different educational worlds.

Private school teachers are not saying everything is perfect. They share concerns about students, technology, culture, and the future of education. But they are, on the whole, more hopeful. They report stronger confidence in their students’ academic, social, and emotional development. They see their schools as more effective in cultivating responsibility and durable skills. They are more positive about school culture and more open to parental choice.[1]

District school teachers, by contrast, appear more burdened. They are less likely to recommend teaching, less confident in student progress, more concerned about discipline and technology, and more likely to view the profession through the lens of strain and scarcity.[1]

The lesson is not that every private school is thriving or that every public school is failing. The reality is more complex than that. But teacher perception matters. Teachers see what policymakers often miss. They know whether students are growing, whether discipline is working, whether technology is helping or hurting, and whether the school culture is healthy enough to support genuine learning.

And according to this report, many private school teachers are seeing something their public school counterparts are not: a greater sense of confidence, order, purpose, and possibility.

That should get our attention.

Citations

[1] EdChoice/Morning Consult, “Teachers and K–12 Education,” May 2026, https://www.edchoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/EdChoice_Teachers_May-2026-Report_Final.pdf

[2] Report page 12 – Teacher profession recommendation and Net Promoter Scores.

[3] Report page 16 – Satisfaction with student learning by school type.

[4] Report page 18 – Student academic, social, and emotional progress comparisons.

[5] Report page 21 – School handling of guns, mental health, violent behavior, and bullying.

[6] Report page 25 – Perceptions of student technology overuse.

[7] Report page 26 – Teacher perceptions of laptop impact on learning.

[8] Report page 30 – Concern over AI’s impact on students’ learning.

[9] Report page 36 – Ratings of schools in teaching durable skills.

[10] Report page 42 – ESA support by school type.

[11] Report page 46 – School voucher support by school type.

[12] Report page 48 – Charter school support by school type.

[13] Report page 7 – Teacher estimates of per-pupil spending versus actual spending.

[14] Report page 8 – Teacher opinions regarding whether public school funding is too low.