Understanding Students’ Views on Current Issues
Survey of 840 high school students ages 15–20 and 812 college students ages 15–24
Field Dates: July 19 - July 24, 2023
Key Findings
• The economy, school safety, and gun policies are among the most concerning issues for students.
• Joe Biden has lost support among high school and college students, and most are not confident he is an effective leader for young people.
• Conservative and moderate college students are less likely to feel safe expressing controversial opinions or views on political and economic issues than liberal college students.
• Most high school and college students believe it is fair for college debts to be at least partially forgiven, but they don’t believe all taxpayers should be responsible for it.
• Students believe climate change is happening and most say it’s an existential threat to their generation. Around half say they are willing to give up or cut down on using gas powered cars and gas stoves to mitigate it, but fewer than 1 in 5 are willing to sacrifice using their smart phones.
2024 Landscape
Q. Would you say things in the United States are headed in the right direction, or is the country off on the wrong track?
Note: Conservative, Moderate, and Liberal are abbreviated as Con., Mod., and Lib.
Total Con. Mod. Lib. 52% 55% 72% 54% 25% 27% 16% 30% 23% 18% 11% 16%
direction
Wrong track Total Con. Mod. Lib. 60% 57% 64% 59% 19% 23% 12% 21% 20% 20% 24% 20% High School College
Most believe the US is off on the wrong track, but conservative high school students are especially skeptical
Right
Unsure
Q. Thinking about issues facing the country today, which issues are you most concerned about personally? Select up to three. Note: “Something else” and “Unsure” responses not shown in chart.
12% 13% 22% 23% 22% 27% 27% 29% 36% 29% 38%
The economy is a top concern for students, though school safety ranks higher among high schoolers, and gun policies are a close second for college students
High
The economy School safety Gun policies Education Abortion LGBTQ+ Rights Health care Political corruption Race relations Immigration 13% 16% 17% 16% 18% 15% 27% 26% 27% 45% 37% The environment and climate change
School College
Students’ ratings of Biden have significantly declined
Strongly approve
High School
Somewhat approve
Somewhat disapprove
Strongly disapprove
College
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as President?
17% 11% 45% 16% 30% 21% 30% 7% 19% 29% 26% 7% 33% 47% (Unsure: 20%) (Unsure: 13%) 14% 15% 33% 25% 58% 29% 2021 2023 (Unsure: 11%) (Unsure: 11%) 62% 28% 51% 38% 2021 2023
Plurality of high school and college students believe Biden is not mentally fit enough to handle being president
Q. In your opinion, is Joe Biden mentally fit enough to handle the job of president?
Total Con. Mod. Lib. 26% 51% 75% 46% 28% 21% 14% 28% 46% 28% 11% 26% Yes Unsure No Total Con. Mod. Lib. 32% 55% 70% 47% 27% 27% 13% 26% 41% 18% 17% 27%
High School College
Q.
College Con. Mod. Lib. 4% 8% 4% 8% 14% 25% 49% 26% 26% 37% 25% 28% 43% 27% 11% 29% 13% 3% 10% 9%
Fewer than 4 in 10 are confident Biden is an effective leader when it comes to the needs of young people
How confident are you that Joe Biden is an effective leader when it comes to the needs of young people? HS Con. Mod. Lib. 9% 8% 4% 14% 15% 32% 63% 31% 21% 26% 18% 22% 40% 26% 12% 25% 15% 8% 4% 7% Very confident Some. confident Not very confident Not confident at all Unsure 53% 80% 58% 36% 32% 16% 35% 55% VERY/ SOME. CONFIDENT NOT VERY/ AT ALL CONFIDENT 38% 22% 30% 56% 54% 74% 62% 40%
Majority want to see Biden face a challenge from serious candidates in a Democratic primary
Yes, would No, would not
Yes, would / No, would not like to see Biden face a challenge in the Democratic primary
High School College
Q. President Joe Biden is running for re-election in 2024. Would you like to see Joe Biden face a challenge from other serious candidates in a Democratic primary, or not?
Note: “Unsure” responses not shown in chart
Total Con. Mod. Lib. 18% 23% 21% 19% 68% 57% 66% 56%
Total Con. Mod. Lib. 23% 24% 19% 22% 62% 60% 69% 61%
Over 6 in 10 high school and college Democrats want Biden to
be challenged by serious candidates in a Democratic primary
Yes, would No, would not
Yes, would / No, would not like to see Biden face a challenge in the Democratic primary
High School College
Q. President Joe Biden is running for re-election in 2024. Would you like to see Joe Biden face a challenge from other serious candidates in a Democratic primary, or not?
Note: “Unsure” responses not shown in chart
Total Democrat 21% 19% 62% 56% Total Democrat 20% 22% 64% 61%
By a 6 point margin, college students support a maximum age limit for presidential candidates
Would you support or oppose establishing a maximum age limit for presidential candidates? College
High School
68% Support
Strongly/Some. Support Strongly/Some. Oppose Unsure
74% Support
Q. A presidential candidate must be at least 35 years old to run for office, but no maximum age limit currently exists. Would you support or oppose establishing a maximum age limit for presidential candidates?
Those who support a maximum age limit think the appropriate limit would be . . .
Q. In your opinion, what would be the appropriate maximum age limit for presidential candidates? (The oldest age that should be allowed) Note: Asked of respondents who said they would support an age limit - 68% (n=589) of high schoolers and 74% (n=584) of college students. “Unsure” and “Something Else” responses not shown in chart.
Most students who support an age limit think the presidential candidate should be younger than 70, but Biden and Trump are both 75+ years old
50-59 years old 60-69 years old 70-79 years old 80-89 years old 90+ years old 1% 11% 25% 37% 23% 1% 6% 28% 46% 18% High School College
Strong majority of conservative and Republican students agree all GOP presidential candidates should participate in debates
High School College
Q. Do you think all of the 2024 Republican presidential candidates should be expected to participate in televised primary debates with the other candidates running for the Republican Party’s nomination to talk about their views on important issues?
Total Con. GOP 5% 8% 6% 10% 10% 26% 85% 82% 67% Should Unsure
not Total Con. GOP 11% 10% 12% 18% 18% 23% 71% 72% 65%
Should
Ideology and School Environment
Most students identified as either moderate or liberal
Q. Regardless of how you typically vote, would you say you consider yourself to be…?
HS College 8% 23% 19% 10% 21% 15% 32% 33% 13% 12% 8% 7% Very conservative Somewhat conservative Moderate Somewhat liberal Very liberal Unsure
20% 25% 21% 40% VERY/ SOME. CON. VERY/ SOME. LIB.
How would you describe most of your classmates?
More ideologically progressive than me
About ideologically the same as me
More ideologically conservative than me
High School College
Q. In general, how would you describe most of your classmates at your current or most recent school?
High schoolers are more likely to think most of their classmates share their ideological views
19% 30% 23% 13% 31% 42% 28% 14% Unsure
Q. In general, how would you describe most of your classmates at your current or most recent school?
24% 11% 9%
conservative than me
progressive than me Unsure
ideologically the same as me Con. Mod. Lib. 12% 18% 28% 51% 46% 39% 12% 25% 24% College Students 25% 23% 23% Con. Mod. Lib. 20% 24% 51% 45% 26% 16% 11% 27% 9%
High School Students
More ideologically
More ideologically
About
Liberal students are more likely than conservatives to think their classmates’ views are similar to their own
About ideologically the same as me
More ideologically conservative than me
More ideologically progressive than me Unsure
High School Students
College Students
Q. In general, how would you describe most of your teachers at your current or most recent school?
24% 23% 17% Con. Mod. Lib. 16% 31% 28% 26% 17% 23% 34% 28% 32% 33% 21% 21% Con. Mod. Lib. 21% 21% 44% 25% 21% 18% 21% 37% 18%
Over 4 in 10 conservative college students describe their teachers as more progressive than them
I feel comfortable discussing my views on national political and economic issues with my teachers.
Q. Please rate how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements about the school you attended during the 2022–2023 school year.
HS Con. Mod. Lib. 11% 14% 18% 13% 17% 23% 21% 20% 3% 10% 6% 13% 47% 34% 33% 36% 22% 20% 22% 19% Strongly agree Somewhat agree Unsure Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree College Con. Mod. Lib. 10% 17% 26% 16% 21% 26% 23% 23% 4% 11% 4% 9% 39% 32% 28% 33% 25% 13% 19% 19%
About half of students are comfortable discussing views with teachers, though conservative and moderate students are less likely to feel that way
54% 33% 55% 38% 54% 36% 69% 28% Agree Disagree 52% 40% 47% 49% 45% 44% 64% 31%
Conservative
and moderate college students are less likely than liberal college students to feel safe expressing controversial opinions in class
I feel safe expressing controversial or unpopular opinions in the classroom.
Q. Please rate how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements about the school you attended during the 2022–2023 school year.
HS Con. Mod. Lib. 15% 14% 17% 14% 23% 27% 24% 23% 5% 6% 7% 11% 33% 31% 36% 33% 24% 22% 16% 19% Strongly agree Somewhat agree Unsure Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree College Con. Mod. Lib. 12% 18% 26% 18% 25% 29% 23% 25% 6% 11% 2% 9% 41% 29% 30% 33% 16% 13% 18% 16% 52% 37% 52% 41% 54% 41% 57% 38% 49% 42% 48% 50% 42% 47% 57% 36%
Agree Disagree
Race and Gender
Allowing biologically male athletes who identify as women to compete against biologically female athletes in varsity women's sports
Q. For each of the following statements, please indicate whether you think the action being proposed is fair or unfair.
Note: “Unsure” responses not shown in chart
Most students find it unfair to use racial quotas and allow transgender women to compete in women’s sports
Allowing the use of racial quotas in the workplace and educational institutions
High School College 51% 61% 24% 14% Fair Unfair High School College 54% 66% 27% 18%
Students’ views on allowing biologically male athletes who identify as women to compete in women’s sports vary more by ideology than gender
Allowing biologically male athletes who identify as women to compete against biologically female athletes in varsity women's sports High School College
Q. For each of the following statements, please indicate whether you think the action being proposed is fair or unfair.
Male Female Con. Mod. Lib. 56% 69% 84% 62% 70% 14% 15% 3% 18% 14% 30% 16% 13% 20% 15% Fair Unsure Unfair Male Female Con. Mod. Lib. 34% 63% 80% 53% 59% 23% 17% 5% 22% 14% 43% 20% 15% 25% 27%
Across racial groups, more students find it unfair than fair to use racial quotas
Allowing the use of racial quotas in the workplace and educational institutions
Q. For each of the following statements, please indicate whether you think the action being proposed is fair or unfair.
White Black Hispanic 55% 59% 63% 33% 17% 24% 12% 24% 13% Fair Unsure Unfair White Black Hispanic 49% 43% 55% 25% 24% 24% 26% 33% 21%
High School College
Majorities of White, Black, and Hispanic students support the decision to remove race as a factor in college admissions
Admissions counselors should consider only merit and not be allowed to consider race as a factor for decision making.
Admissions counselors should be allowed to considerrace when making decisions on college acceptance.
High School Students College Students
Q. Recently, the Supreme Court ruled that race can no longer be considered in the college admissions process. Which of the following statements do you agree with more, even if neither perfectly describes your views?
Total White Black Hispanic 21% 15% 10% 14% 15% 14% 13% 14% 64% 71% 77% 72%
Unsure
Total White Black Hispanic 27% 27% 19% 23% 13% 13% 11% 12% 60% 59% 71% 66%
Student Loans
More than 6 in 10 students would support the government canceling all student loan debt
HS College 8% 12% 14% 13% 12% 14% 29% 26% 38% 35% Strongly support Somewhat support Unsure Somewhat oppose Strongly oppose
Would you support or oppose the federal government canceling student loan debt for all borrowers? 61% 25% 67% 22% TOTAL SUPPORT TOTAL OPPOSE
Q.
It isn’t fair that those who did not attend college should have their tax dollars go to canceling the student loans of those who did.
High School College
Q. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
Total Con. Mod. Lib. 30% 22% 16% 20% 17% 24% 8% 22% 52% 53% 76% 58% Agree Unsure Disagree Total Con. Mod. Lib. 33% 24% 10% 23% 18% 17% 10% 18% 49% 60% 81% 58%
However, most agree that isn’t fair that taxpayers who did not attend college should have to pay for it
Forgiving $10,000 worth of student loans for every borrower, so they don’t have to pay them back
Asking taxpayers—including those who didn’t take out loans or attend college—to cover $10,000 of the student loan debt of every borrower who still owes High School College
Q. For each of the following statements, please indicate whether you think the action being proposed is fair or unfair. Note: “Unsure” responses not shown in chart
High School College 20% 20% 60% 63% Fair Unfair
Similarly, when asked about forgiving $10,000, most said forgiveness would be fair, but asking other taxpayers to cover it would be unfair
54% 63% 26% 18%
on college tuition costs
The government should place a maximum limit on tuition costs for colleges and universities Unsure Colleges and universities should be able to set their own tuition costs without any maximum limit
Q. Which of the following statements do you agree with more, even if neither perfectly describes your views?
HS College 20% 19% 10% 16% 70% 65%
7 in 10 college students and 65% of high schoolers want a maximum limit
Government Spending
About 7 in 10 students believe that the government spending more money than it takes in is unfair
The federal government spending more money than it takes in, growing the national debt so that future generations will have to address it
High School College
Q. For each of the following statements, please indicate whether you think the action being proposed is fair or unfair.
Total Con. Mod. Lib. 75% 76% 80% 75% 10% 12% 7% 14% 15% 12% 12% 11% Fair Unsure Unfair Total Con. Mod. Lib. 69% 70% 80% 70% 16% 12% 6% 14% 16% 18% 14% 16%
Nearly 6 in 10 high school and college students believe the government should be spending less money
HS College 13% 14% 26% 31% 31% 28% 16% 15% 8% 7% 6% 5% Much more money Slightly more money Keep spending the same Slightly less money Much less money Unsure Q. In your opinion, should the government generally be spending more money, less money, or keep spending the same? 12% 59% 15% 57% MORE MONEY LESS MONEY
Q. In your opinion, should the government generally be spending more money, less money, or keep spending the same?
Con. Mod. Lib. 8% 8% 4% 25% 33% 42% 30% 32% 23% 17% 17% 17% 9% 6% 9% 11% 4% 4% Much more money Slightly more money Keep spending the same Slightly less money Much less money Unsure 66% 65% 55% 13% 10% 20% 13% 13% 18% 63% 54% 58% Con. Mod. Lib. 10% 12% 11% 25% 18% 37% 33% 36% 25% 14% 21% 13% 10% 9% 5% 8% 4% 8% College High School MORE MONEY LESS MONEY
Although more conservatives say the government should spend much less money, moderates and liberals agree that spending should be reduced to some extent
Students are most interested in increasing spending on education
and health care
Q. If you were making up the budget for the federal government to decide how to spend tax dollars this year, would you increase, decrease, or keep spending the same for… Note: Other response options not shown in the chart were “Decrease spending,” “Keep spending the same,” and “Unsure.”
15% 22% 29% 39% 52% 41% 41% 60% 66%
should increase spending on … Education Health care Veterans benefits Social welfare programs Green energy Scientific research Infrastructure Military defense Foreign aid 9% 31% 28% 36% 39% 41% 61% 63% 68% High School College
Federal government
Climate Change
More than 8 in 10 high school and college students believe climate change is happening and a majority view it as an existential threat
Q. Do you believe climate change is happening?
Q. Do you believe climate change is an existential threat to your generation?
HS College 8% 9% 5% 10% 86% 81% Yes Unsure No HS College 22% 19% 10% 17% 67% 64%
If we continue at our current rate of consumption, we will run out of fossil fuels in my lifetime.
High School College
Q. Do you believe or not believe the following statement?
Total Con. Mod. Lib. 24% 23% 40% 25% 23% 31% 16% 30% 52% 46% 44% 46% Believe Unsure Do not believe Total Con. Mod. Lib. 12% 24% 42% 23% 22% 29% 15% 23% 65% 48% 43% 54%
Many remain unsure about the future of fossil fuels, but college students lean toward believing they will run out
Willing to give up or significantly cut down on to mitigate climate change
Q.Which of the following, if any, would you be willing to give up or significantly cut down on to help mitigate climate change? Select all that apply.
To mitigate climate change, students are most likely to be willing to give up or cut down on gas powered cars, least likely to give up their smart phones
11% 13% 17% 26% 30% 25% 39% 48% 58% Gas powered cars Gas stoves Airplane travel Social media Having children Meat Air conditioning and heating Smart phones None of the above 16% 12% 11% 20% 18% 27% 46% 47% 50% High School College
Business
activism
Likelihood of supporting a company that engages in ‘woke’ marketing or activism
Q. Woke corporations are described by some as companies that take progressive stances on cultural and political issues such as race and gender. Based on what you know, are you more or less likely to support a company that engages in ‘woke’ marketing or activism?
HS College 9% 14% 12% 9% 13% 22% 28% 27% 25% 18% 14% 10% Much more likely Somewhat more likely Makes no difference Unsure Somewhat less likely Much less likely
4 in 10 college students are much or somewhat more likely to support a company that engages in woke marketing or
28% 23% 39% 21%
MORE LIKELY LESS LIKELY
A majority believe private businesses should be required to reduce carbon emissions and stop doing business in countries that violate human rights
• Nearly 5 in 10 high school students think that supporting social movements should not be required
• Just over 4 in 10 college students believe that there shouldn’t be a requirement to hire a certain number of women or people from a racial or ethnic minority group
= % Should be required
High School College
Stop doing business in countries that violate their citizens' human rights
Reduce their carbon emissions
Have a certain minimum number of people who are women or are from racial or ethnic minority groups to serve on the board that runs the company
Hire a certain minimum number of people who are women or from racial or ethnic minority groups
Support the mission of social movements like Black Lives Matter
Q. Should private businesses be required by the government to take each of the following actions?
39% 36% 37% 66% 63% 29% 35% 36% 63% 70%
Methodology
Methodology
Echelon Insights conducted a survey on behalf of Young America’s Foundation to examine high school and college students’ attitudes toward current issues and politics.The survey was fielded online from July 19–24, 2023 in English among a sample of 840 high school students ages 15–20 and 812 college students ages 15–24 using non-probability sampling.
The sample was drawn from the Lucid sample exchange based on gender, age, race/ethnicity, and education level quota targets derived from the U.S. Census Bureau’s October 2021 Current Population Survey School Enrollment Supplement. Respondents ages 15–17 were contacted through their parents, who were asked if their child could take the survey. To protect their privacy and anonymity, the survey did not ask respondents for any personally-identifiable information or contact information. All respondents were required to answer screening questions to verify they fit the criteria for the study. Students were classified as high school students or college students based on their level of enrollment during the 2022–2023 school year. Data quality measures included the use of an attentiveness check where respondents were directed to select a particular response and measures to prevent duplicate responses. Respondents who completed the survey in less than one-third of the median interview time for the full sample were removed from the data file.
The high school students sample and college students sample were weighted separately to population benchmarks for students ages 15-24 nationwide from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey October 2021 School Enrollment Supplement and September 2021 Volunteering and Civic Life Supplement on the following variables.
• Based on the October 2021 CPS School Enrollment Supplement: Gender, Age, Race/Ethnicity, Census region, School type (public vs. private/homeschool), College students only: Full-time vs. part-time status, Undergraduate vs. graduate level
• Based on the September 2021 Volunteering and Civic Life Supplement (self-response data): Gender x Whether they said they did or did not post their views about political, societal, or local issues on the internet or social media in the past 12 months
Calculated the way it would be for a random sample and adjusted to incorporate the effect of weighting, the margin of sampling error is ± 4.0 percentage points for high school students and ± 4.1 percentage points for college students. This estimate of precision does not account for other potential sources of error that can occur in online surveys with non-probability samples, such as non-coverage due to the survey being conducted online.