WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new Gallup poll reveals the majority of Americans are dissatisfied with the public school system, believing it to be the worst option for educating children.

In the national survey conducted Aug. 9-12, private independent schools, parochial and church-related schools, charter schools and home-schooling all received higher overall ratings than public schools, reports CNSnews.com.

“I’m going to read a list of ways in which children are educated in the U.S. today.  As I read each one, please indicate—based on what you know or have read and heard—how good an education each provides children—excellent, good, only fair, or poor.  How about:  public schools, parochial schools or church-related schools, independent private schools, charter schools, or home-schooling?” Gallup pollsters asked respondents.

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Only 37 percent said public schools give children an excellent or good education.

Independent private schools received the highest rating, with 78 percent saying they provide an excellent or good education. Parochial and church-related schools came in second at 69 percent, while charter schools were rated favorably by 60 percent. Even homeschooling, at 46 percent, was seen as a better education option than public schools.

While parents of school-aged children were slightly more optimistic about the quality of public school education (47 percent rating it as excellent or good), they generally ranked the various school types in the same order as other respondents.

The relatively low rating for public schools may be part of a broader dissatisfaction of the education system in the United States, Gallup explains.  Fifty-three percent of Americans are unhappy with today’s quality of education.

“Americans may just have a general sense that U.S. public education is not where it needs to be, perhaps due to news media reports that American students lag behind students in other countries in basic academic skills,” reports Gallup.

The survey was based on a random sample of 1,012 American adults and had a margin of error of 4 percentage points. Of those surveyed, 236 said they were parents of a child who will be attending school in grades K through 12 this fall.