WSJ/NORC Poll

July 2025

Conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago

With funding from the Wall Street Journal

GEN. Do you feel confident or not confident that life for our children’s generation will be better than it has been for us?

Most Americans, about 80 percent, don’t feel confident their children’s lives will be better than theirs. 

An Education Reckoning: What It Means When 80 % of Americans Don’t Think Their Children Will Have Better Lives

by Michael Keany

A striking new Wall Street Journal-NORC poll reveals that roughly 80 percent of Americans are not confident their children’s lives will be better than their own—the most pessimistic outlook in decades of tracking this question.  This pervasive doubt about intergenerational progress is more than a political talking point; for educators, it signals a profound shift in public belief about the promise of schooling, economic opportunity, and social mobility.

The Poll’s Findings and Why They Matter

The WSJ-NORC poll asked adults whether they felt confident their children would enjoy a better life than they had. Nearly four in five respondents said no, indicating deep skepticism about economic prospects, educational outcomes, and societal progress. 

This isn’t just about the economy or inflation. It reflects a broader social perception that the institutions once believed to guarantee opportunity—including public education—are failing. When families lose confidence that each generation will do better than the last, the “American Dream” narrative weakens. For educators, this matters because schools are trusted intermediaries of that promise. What families believe about education’s power to change lives influences everything from student motivation to community support for schools.

Growing Pessimism and Public Opinion on Education

The decline in confidence aligns with other recent public opinion data. A Pew Research Center survey found about half of Americans think public K-12 education is going in the wrong direction, with only 16 percent saying it’s headed the right way.  Other polls show dissatisfaction with educational quality is at historic lows. 

Public skepticism about schooling’s direction feeds into pessimism about future opportunities. If families doubt that schools are preparing children academically and socially for a competitive world, it’s unsurprising that they would also doubt that children will have better lives than their parents.

Why This Matters for Educators

1. Student Motivation and Effort: Research shows that students’ future expectations—their belief in a positive future—are strongly linked to academic behaviors and achievement. When young people internalize societal pessimism, they may lack effort optimism, the belief that hard work in school will pay dividends in later life.  For educators, fostering and sustaining future-oriented mindsets becomes essential, not just for grades, but for resilience and aspiration.

2. Equity and Access: Persistent achievement gaps mean that not all students start with an equal footing. Access to quality instruction, technology, and support systems varies widely—issues highlighted by digital divide research showing students without reliable internet access fall behind academically.  If parents see systemic inequality in education, their lack of confidence in children’s upward mobility becomes understandable.

3. Educational Outcomes and Recovery: The learning setbacks from recent years—especially from the pandemic—compound pessimism. National and international assessments show that students haven’t fully rebounded academically in key subjects, which impacts public trust in schooling.  Educators must not only accelerate learning recovery but also communicate progress effectively to rebuild public confidence.

What Educators Can Do

Re-center Hope as a Learning Outcome: Optimism isn’t naïve—it’s educational. Schools can deliberately cultivate future thinking, goal setting, and meaningful career pathways from early grades through high school. Integrating discussions about how skills learned today connect to tomorrow’s opportunities helps students retain effort optimism.

Strengthen Community Trust: Outreach that explains instructional strategies, learning gains, and success stories can counteract the narrative of decline. If families and communities see tangible progress—such as restored math skills or improved reading outcomes—they may regain faith in education’s promise.

Commit to Equity-Driven Policies: Addressing digital access, expanded tutoring, equitable funding, and holistic student supports not only improves learning but signals that education still opens doors. Equity initiatives demonstrate that schools are partners in expanding opportunity, not just institutions with limited impact.

Conclusion

The WSJ-NORC poll’s sobering finding—that most Americans don’t believe their children will have better lives—poses both a challenge and a call to action for educators. At stake is not only academic achievement but the social narrative that hard work, learning, and schooling can still deliver upward mobility. Rebuilding confidence will require intentional pedagogical choices, community engagement, and policies that ensure all students can envision and realize a better future.

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Prepared with the assistance of AI software

OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT (4) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com