If it's in the News, it's in our Polls. Public opinion polling since 2003.

LIFESTYLE

71% Say Formal Education Key to Success in Life, Not Street Smarts

Most Americans continue to believe that what you learn inside the classroom is more valuable than what’s learned on the outside.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 71% of American Adults say formal education is more important for success in life than street smarts.  Only 17% say street smarts are more valuable, while 12% are not sure.  (To see survey question wording, click here.) [link]

These findings show little change from surveys dating back to early August 2008.  [link to 72% Say Books Best for School Children]

With summer vacation in full swing, a majority of Americans now believe children need to spend more time in school.  However, they are against a 12-month school calendar.  [link to 56% Say Children Need To Spend More Time in School]

(Want a free daily e-mail update?  If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The national telephone survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on July 19-20, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.  Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC.  See methodology.

Want to read more?

Become a Rasmussen Reader to read the article

Have an account?

Log In

Become a Reader

Subscribe

Rasmussen Reports is a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion information.

We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.

Some information, including the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll and commentaries are available for free to the general public. Subscriptions are available for $4.95 a month or 34.95 a year that provide subscribers with exclusive access to more than 20 stories per week on upcoming elections, consumer confidence, and issues that affect us all. For those who are really into the numbers, Platinum Members can review demographic crosstabs and a full history of our data.

To learn more about our methodology, click here.