Opinion

American schools cost more than ever but our students still keep failing

Test scores show American 15-year-olds falling further behind despite massive US spending

By Corey DeAngelis Fox News

Published September 17, 2026 5:00am EDT

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Parents’ satisfaction with K-12 education drops to all-time low: Poll

‘Outnumbered’ co-host Kayleigh McEnany discusses a Gallup poll revealing parents’ satisfaction with U.S. schools has plummeted to an all-time low.

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The latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores confirm what parents have been living for years: the United States is falling even further behind academically. American 15-year-olds just posted among the lowest reading and math results this country has recorded in a generation. Reading dropped another 14 points and math sits near historic lows. The teachers union cartel and the one-size-fits-all government school monopoly have produced an international embarrassment.

Worse – and tellingly – that collapse followed a historic spending binge. According to the Census Bureau’s latest data, we now outspend every country on Earth: over $21,000 per student. Yet new Gallup polling shows satisfaction with K-12 education at an all-time low, with a whopping 67% of adults reporting dissatisfaction with the system.

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