According to a new poll from PDK International, about four in 10 Americans grade the nation's public schools as a C. More than a quarter of Americans give the nation's public schools a failing grade.

Looking at trends since President Obama took office in 2009, the portion of Americans giving the nation's public schools an A or B grade is up from about 19 percent in 2009 to 24 percent in 2016.

But Americans have seen a small decline in their views of their local schools. In 2009, about 51 percent of Americans graded their local schools as an A or B. Now that's fallen to 48 percent.

Interestingly, the PDK International survey is only the latest to show that people tend to view their local schools more favorably than schools nationwide.

Current public school parents are even more likely to view local schools well, with 67 percent giving them an A or B grade. Only 10 percent of them gave their local schools a failing grade.

When asked what the biggest challenge facing their local schools is, the most common response was a lack of money. About 20 percent of Americans said as much, twice as much as the next most commonly-cited problems: Lack of discipline, concerns about quality and violence.

A small majority, 53 percent of Americans, support raising their local property taxes to fund their schools.

Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.