Missouri Voter Opinions on Education: Results from the Fall 2026 SLU/YouGov Poll

Abigail Medler, MPA

Since 2020, Saint Louis University (SLU) has worked with YouGov to poll Missouri citizens on current issues in politics and education. We surveyed 900 likely Missouri voters from August 13–August 24, 2026 to inform stakeholders on public opinion on political and education-related policy issues. In this brief, we dive into the education-related results.

Key Points:

• 39% of Missouri voters consider the schools in their local district ‘good’ or ‘excellent.’ Only 22% say the same for schools across the state.

• A majority of voters support DESE (the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) giving public schools and districts an annual A - F grade.

• More than two-thirds of Missouri voters do not know if their local school district offers paid parental leave, but more than two-thirds would support it.

• Respondents believe more public high school students met or exceeded proficiency in their local district than across the state.

• Respondents slightly underestimated the percent of public high school students that met or exceeded proficiency on the English II assessment.

• Respondents slightly overestimated the percent of public high school students that met or exceeded proficiency on the Algebra I assessment.

Please Cite As: Medler, A. (2026). Missouri voter opinions on education: Results from the fall 2026 SLU/YouGov Poll. Policy Research in Missouri Education, 8(12). www.primecenter.org/policy-brief-database/fall-2026-poll