President Obama says U.S. children need to spend more time in school to make them more competitive with students from other countries, and 49% of Americans think the president is right.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 37% disagree and don’t think American kids need to spend more time in school. Fourteen percent (14%) are not sure.

Just 28% of adults favor extending the school year to a 12-month calendar. Sixty-five percent (65%) oppose such a move. These numbers are roughly comparable to those in August at the height of summer vacation.

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Communities around the country have been toying with the idea of shifting to year-round schooling for educational and budget reasons. “ I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas," the president says. “But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom."

Fifty-five percent (55%) of men say American children need to spend more time in school, compared to 44% of women. Those with children living at home are evenly divided on the question, but 52% of those without children in their homes say more schooling is a good idea.

Adults ages 30 to 49 are also closely divided on the issue of additional schooling, while the majority of those in all other age groups, including those 18 to 29, favor the idea.

Thirty-two percent (32%) of men like extending the school year to a 12-month calendar, but just 24% of women agree. Thirty-four percent (34%) of those with children in the home also support extending the school calendar versus just 23% of those who don’t have children living with them.

Fifty-one percent (51%) of investors believe U.S. students need to spend more time in school, but 59% oppose the idea of a 12-month school calendar.

Seventy-one percent (71%) of Americans rate book learning as more important than street smarts for success in life.

Fifty-six percent (56%) say that every American should receive further education after high school by attending either a college or vocational school. But 80% also believe that individuals learn more practical skills through life experience and work rather than through college.

In a survey in September of last year, 81% of adults rated the performance of their children’s schools as good or excellent.

Fifty-nine percent (59%) of voters say education is a very important issue, placing it seventh on a list of 10 key issues tracked monthly by Rasmussen Reports.

Just 14% say ensuring that every child has access to a complete and competitive education is the most important of the four budget priorities cited by the president earlier this year. Cutting the federal deficit in half by the end of his first term is the priority voters rate highest.

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