Americans Are Losing Faith in Public Schools (and Looking for Real Alternatives)

When nearly three out of four Americans say they’re dissatisfied with the public education system, it’s time to start asking some serious questions.

That three-quarters figure comes from a recent 2025 Gallup poll, which found that 73% of adults think public education is headed in the wrong direction. 

We wanted to dig deeper into those findings to learn what exactly is driving such a high degree of dissatisfaction.

A national survey by Overton Insights, a polling project launched by our friends at Libertas Network, gives us the insights we were looking for.

The data paints a picture of a country that is quietly but decisively turning away from the idea that one-size-fits-all schooling can meet the needs of every family.

Among those who say they’re unhappy with the state of public education, the top complaints were predictable to anyone paying attention: political bias, declining academic quality, and a lack of real-world skills.

It turns out parents don’t want classrooms that sound like cable news; they want schools that teach children how to think, not what to think, and that prepare them for a real future.

That’s why 77% of parents say they’ve purchased supplemental materials, such as books, videos, and other lessons, to fill in the gaps themselves. And who can blame them when close to a third of all parents with school-aged kids say the values being taught at school are in total conflict with their family’s own?

[Overton graphic: values in conflict]

That’s a pretty big deal. 

It suggests what we’ve long suspected: that millions of families are quietly building a parallel education system from their kitchen tables, living rooms, and homeschool groups—one centered on family values, character, and critical thinking, rather than bureaucratic mandates.

When asked if they’d support a microschool in their neighborhood, something like a small learning space in a home, church, or office with 25 or fewer students, 75% said “yes.”

That’s amazing!

Add to that the fact that most Americans now prefer unaccredited programs that teach real, useful skills over “official” but overpriced ones, and you start to see a clear trend. People want education that works for them, and they don’t really care about accreditation. They simply want to acquire valuable skills that will benefit them in life.

[Overton graphic: unaccredited programs]

At the Tuttle Twins, we see this shift every day. 

Families are rediscovering that they, not politicians or institutions, are the primary educators of their children. 

And whether that looks like homeschooling, microschooling, or simply teaching liberty and critical thinking at home, it’s part of a movement that’s growing faster than most people realize.

That’s why we continue to expand our Tuttle Twins library of resources and Homeschool Hub. We want to keep creating tools to help parents take back control of their kids’ learning, regardless of where they go to school. 

Because as more Americans wake up to what the system has become, it’s clear that the future of education belongs to families who choose freedom and self-reliance over conformity and ease.

And we’ll continue to be here to help them along the way.