Sixty-two percent of drivers in the United States admit having driven while they were so tired they had a hard time keeping their eyes open. Among them, a quarter – the equivalent of approximately 37 million adults – report doing so at least once a year, or more often than that.

That’s the case even though 95 percent of adults call drowsy driving extremely or very risky.  Even among drivers who call it extremely risky, six in 10 say they have driven drowsy at some point.

Results are from a survey we produced for the National Sleep Foundation in conjunction with its 15th annual Drowsy Driving Week. See the full report here and more information about Drowsy Driving Week here.

Gary Langer joined Courtney Kennedy of the Pew Research Center in an hourlong webinar for journalists on how to cover election polls, sponsored by the SciLine program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. See Gary wave his arms and foam at the mouth here.

Our latest ABC News/Washington Post poll finds the Democratic Party struggling to find traction in the midterms, Joe Biden’s economic stewardship under fire and his overall job approval under 40 percent. A clear majority of Democrats say the party should replace Biden as its nominee for president in 2024. In addition to coverage by ABC and the Post, we’ve seen pickup by Yahoo News, Newsweek, Fox News, Fox Business, Bloomberg and The Hill, among others.

Two extensive new surveys from Langer Research Associates have been released in the past two weeks, one exploring attitudes and experiences among public school teachers in Texas, the other evaluating vaccine uptake and related attitudes among a national, random sample of college students.

The Texas study, produced for the Charles Butt Foundation, finds vast numbers of Texas teachers feeling undervalued, underpaid and overworked – with consequences for retention. Seventy-seven percent have seriously considered leaving the profession, up 19 percentage points in two years. Seventy-two percent have taken concrete steps to do so, from preparing resumes and conducting job searches to interviewing for another position. Even excluding those nearing retirement age, six in 10 expect to move on within five years.

Pay is a major factor: Eighty-one percent of Texas teachers say their pay is unfair, up 12 points in a year. Forty-one percent report working an additional job out of financial need, in most cases during the school year. And morale has suffered sharply, with the share of teachers who feel valued by Texans overall falling from 44 percent two years ago to 17 percent now – the single largest change in three years of Texas teacher surveys.

The survey identifies several actionable retention strategies. A broad 80 percent of teachers say input into school and district decision-making would be highly important in encouraging them to continue working as a public school teacher; only 16 percent feel they have this in their current position. A significant pay increase and improved work culture and environment also would be highly impactful.

See the full report and our accompanying qualitative study of Texas teachers’ attitudes here. We’ve seen pickup in the Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle, KBTX in Austin, the Texas Tribune, San Antonio Report, Longview News-Journal, and in county newspapers across the state.


Our national study for the American College Health Association finds that COVID-19 vaccination among college students exceeds uptake among all adults nationally, with campus vaccine requirements a decisive factor.

The survey finds that 85 percent of college students are vaccinated, rising to nearly universal uptake at colleges that require it. Such vaccine requirements are a significant, independent predictor of student vaccination. And about eight in 10 students at campuses with these requirements in place say they feel safer as a result.

Vaccination lags at two-year colleges and the survey finds substantial hesitancy among students who are not vaccinated, as well as among those who are vaccinated but have not received a booster shot. It identifies communication obstacles, with fewer than half of students reporting getting at least a good amount of information about COVID-19 or COVID-19 vaccines from their college. Incoming students had low awareness of their schools’ vaccine or mask requirements.

The survey also assesses uptake of other vaccines and college students’ healthcare experiences. The full report, produced for the ACHA’s CoVAC (Campus COVID-19 Vaccination and Mitigation Initiative), is available here. Also see coverage in the Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed.

Americans say the Supreme Court should uphold rather than overturn Roe v. Wade by a 2-1 margin in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, with coverage by NBC NewsForbesFiveThirtyEightUSA TodayThe HillThe WeekAnchorage Daily NewsThe Meridian Star and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

As midterm primary season accelerates, the poll also finds that most Republicans want their party to follow the leadership of former President Donald Trump. Among Americans overall, concerns about the war in Ukraine are widespread and Republicans are more trusted to handle inflation and crime. In addition to coverage by ABC and the Post, results have been picked up by CNN, Axios (here and here), MSNBC NewsNewsweekThe HillThe WeekThe GuardianThe Fiscal Times, and the Los Angeles Times, among others.

Colleagues have shared with us an independent poll in Russia finding 58% support for the military conflict in Ukraine. Not a good starting point for Vladimir Putin; this is considerably lower than support for his actions in Chechnya and Crimea, and, for comparison, lower than Americans’ initial support for various U.S. conflicts in years past.

Support is especially low among young adults (29% among those 18-24; 37% among those 25-30, vs. 75% among those 66+). It’s below half in cities and, notably, among those whose personal finances have worsened in the past year – a group sure to grow, given sanctions.

See our essay on the survey here and coverage by The Washington Post here, both with links to the source materials.

Our most recent ABC News/Washington Post poll finds President Joe Biden’s approval rating at a career low and covers attitudes towards Russia and the U.S. response to the crisis in Ukraine. In addition to coverage by ABC and the Post, these results were picked up by numerous outlets including NBC NewsFox NewsVoxThe Atlantic, The Hill (here and here), PoliticoThe Financial TimesBloombergThe Guardian, CNBC, The Boston GlobeNew York Magazinecentralmaine.com and Anchorage Daily News.

The national poll also covers views on the state of the coronavirus pandemic. These results were covered by The HillNewsweek and the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, among others.

The American College Health Association has released our analysis of vaccine uptake and pandemic-related attitudes among college students, based on a data collected in the ongoing Axios-Ipsos COVID-19 tracking poll. Results include some concerning indications of pandemic fatigue among college students, including no reduction in disinclination to get vaccinated, no change in mitigation steps in the face of the Omicron surge and double-digit declines in trust and federal and state leadership.

Longer-term results indicate continued disparities among students by race and ethnicity in vaccine uptake. These gaps are not apparent when accounting for uptake intentions, suggesting that Black students, in particular, may face continued barriers to vaccination or a preference to wait and see.

See our report here.

The Charles Butt Foundation today released an extensive statewide survey of public attitudes toward public education in Texas, covering views among public school parents and Texans overall toward a broad range of public school policies and programs.

The survey finds a two-year surge in parents’ ratings of their community’s public schools, with 68 percent giving their schools an A or B grade, up 12 percentage points from its pre-pandemic level. Seventy-six percent, moreover, give an A or B grade to the public school teachers in their community.

More Texans trust teachers rather than others to make decisions in the best interest of public school students, followed by trust in principals, local school boards and district administrators, with state elected officials last on the list.

About three-quarters of public school parents report that their child has a very or somewhat strong sense of belonging at school, a strong factor in other attitudes. And if other options were available, eight in 10 would choose to keep their child in their current school rather than send them to a different one.

The survey also covers topics including the role of public schools in their communities, levels of support for various school services, school quality, inclusion, equity barriers, challenges facing teachers, perceptions of standardized testing and school funding.

We’re proud again to have worked with this foundation in producing its third annual survey on public education in Texas. See the report here.

Our latest ABC News/Washington Post poll finds that Republican candidates hold their largest early advantage in midterm election vote preferences in polls dating back to 1981, with pickup from CNNNBC News, Fox News (here and here), MSNBCBloombergThe HillFinancial Advisor Magazine, and local outlets such as Florida PoliticsSpectrum News NY1 and the Hindustan Times.

The national poll also covers views on abortionclimate change and parents’ perceptions of coronavirus vaccine safety and efficacy in children. In addition to coverage by ABC and the Post, these results have been covered by CNNForbesUSA Today, The Hill (here and here), Arkansas Times and Anchorage Daily News, among others.