Poll: Where voters stand on education to start the school year

(NewsNation) — A NewsNation and Decision Desk HQ poll of registered voters found a plurality of voters thought middle school was the appropriate time to introduce sex education for students and more than half of Americans believe the government has more information on extraterrestrial life than they are sharing with the public.

The survey of 1,000 nationwide registered voters conducted on August 24 and 25 provided insights into the public’s attitudes toward education, the 2024 Presidential election, and voter sentiments on the existence of UFOs. Margins of error vary per question because the number of people who answered each question is different (learn more about why margins of error matter here).

See the full results of the poll below:

Question 1: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president? (Margin of Error 3.04%)

Strongly approve: 21.61%
Somewhat approve: 25.99%
Somewhat disapprove: 15.05%
Strongly disapprove: 37.3%

Question 2: Which of the following do you think is a bigger threat to the United States today? (Margin of Error 3.102%)

Russia: 24.88%
China: 47.81%
Iran: 1.87%
North Korea: 8.55%
Afghanistan: 1.61%
Other: 3.80%
Not sure: 11.47%

Question 3: And how concerned are you about inflation? (Margin of Error: 3.075%)

Very concerned: 56.93%
Somewhat concerned: 34.12%
Not too concerned: 7.34%
Not at all concerned: 1.62%

Question 4: Which do you think is a bigger problem facing the United States today: Inflation, unemployment, crime or immigration? (Margin of Error: 3.081%)

Inflation: 56.22%
Unemployment: 7.30%
Immigration: 15.40%
Crime: 21.08%

Question 5: Thinking about education, when do you think students should start receiving sex education in school? (Margin of Error: 3.1%)

Elementary School: 14.38%
Middle School: 47.22%
High School: 27.83%
I do not think schools should teach students sex education at any age: 10.7%

Question 6: Which of the following would you say is the biggest issue facing US students entering the next school year? (Margin of Error: 2.712%)

Physical safety: 15.81%
Poor education standards: 25.63%
Lack of teachers and other school staff: 17.78%
Bullying from peers: 14.33%
Mental health issues: 17.65%
Something else: 2.66%
Not sure: 6.14%

Question 7: Of the following, which would you say is the best for schools to respond to teacher shortages when they arise? (Margin of Error: 3.103%)

Removing teacher accreditation standards: 3.14%
Increasing salaries for teachers: 48.23%
Shortening the school week from five to four days: 7.07%
Giving more autonomy to teachers for setting classroom education policy: 12.51%
Offering stipends or other bonuses to teaching applicants: 12.89%
Something else: 5.97%
Not sure: 10.20%

Question 8: Do you support or oppose reducing the U.S. school week from five days to four days? (Margin of Error: 2.753%)

Strongly support: 17.09%
Somewhat support: 18.64%
Somewhat oppose: 23.35%
Strongly oppose: 26.87%
Not sure: 14.05%

Question 9: Thinking of the 2024 general election for President, how would you describe yourself? (Margin of Error: 2.793%)

Definitely voting for the Democratic candidate: 28.16%
Probably voting for the Democratic candidate: 11.39%
Undecided/Not sure: 20.71%
Probably voting for the Republican candidate: 11.48%
Definitely voting for the Republican candidate: 27.38%
I’m not voting in the 2024 general election: 0.88%

Question 10: Do you think another candidate should run against Joe Biden in the Democratic primary? (Margin of Error: 2.959%)

Yes: 65.15%
No: 18.94%
Not sure: 15.91%

Question 10a: And which of the following candidates would you most like to see challenge Joe Biden in the primary? (Margin of Error: 3.689%)

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders: 12.01%
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: 7.69%
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren: 6.24%
California Gov. Gavin Newsom: 9.63%
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg: 5.60%
West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin: 15.97%
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: 5.18%
Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips: 1.84%
Someone else: 35.83%

Question 11: How concerned would you be about Joe Biden’s age affecting his ability to serve as president effectively? (Margin of Error: 3.096%)

Very concerned: 53.96%
Somewhat concerned: 26.15%
Not too concerned: 14.49%
Not at all concerned: 5.41%

Question 12: How concerned would you be about Donald Trump’s age affecting his ability to serve as president effectively? (Margin of Error: 2.674%)

Very concerned: 37.20%
Somewhat concerned: 25.57%
Not too concerned: 19.57%
Not at all concerned: 17.66%

Question 13: To what extent did you watch or hear about the first 2024 Presidential GOP primary debate? (Margin of Error: 30.89%)

I watched the entire debate: 20.15%
I watched parts of the debate, but not the entire debate: 20.72%
I watched clips or highlights of the debate, but did not watch the debate live: 24.59%
I heard about the debate from someone else but did not watch any footage: 14.83%
I did not watch or hear anything about the debate: 19.72%

Question 13a: And from what you watched or heard, which candidate would you say performed the best in the debate? (Margin of Error: 30.34%)

Ron DeSantis: 13.69%
Tim Scott: 4.10%
Asa Hutchinson: 2.26%
Nikki Haley: 17.94%
Vivek Ramaswamy: 20.21%
Chris Christie: 7.85%
Doug Burgum: 0.42%
Mike Pence: 7.09%
None of the candidates stood out: 25.85%

Question 14: How likely do you think UFOs/unidentified aerial phenomena are related to intelligent alien life? (Margin of Error: 2.965)

Very likely: 18.29%
Somewhat likely: 35.15%
Not very likely: 27.71%
Not at all likely: 18.85%

Question 15: Do you believe that intelligent life exists on other planets? (Margin of Error: 3.101%)

Yes: 52.66%
No: 19.00%
Not sure: 28.34%

Question 16: Do you believe that the U.S. government has more information about extraterrestrial life than has been publicly shared? (Margin of Error: 2.995%)

Yes: 63.18%
No: 16.69%
Not Sure: 20.13%

Question 17: Overall, would you say that the country is on the right track or on the wrong track? (Margin of Error: 3.012%)

Right track: 28.44%
Wrong track: 62.14%
Not sure: 9.42%

Question 18: Overall, would you say you are better or worse off financially than you were about a year ago? (Margin of Error: 3.043%)

Better off: 27.43%
Worse off: 40.01%
Neither better nor worse off: 32.56%

Question 19: Thinking about other topics, if the election for the U.S. Congress in your district was held today, which of the following candidates would you most likely vote for? (Margin of Error: 3.099%)

Republican candidate: 46.78%
Democratic candidate: 43.06%
Third party candidate: 6.10%
Would not vote: 4.06%

Question: 20: What is the highest degree or level of school you have completed? If you’re currently enrolled in school, please indicate the highest degree you have received. (Margin of Error: 2.952%)

Post-graduate degree: 19.59%
Bachelor’s degree: 34.49%
Some college or associate’s degree: 28.99%
High school diploma or less: 16.93%

Question 21: Which of the following would you say most accurately describes your political ideology? (Margin of Error: 2.982%)