153,000 K-12 students surveyed by Scholastic have determined Hillary Clinton to be the next president of the United States, with 52 percent voting in her favor and 35 percent casting their vote for Donald Trump. 

13 percent of students voted for “other” choices, with Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson getting 2 percent of the votes and Senator Bernie Sanders and Green Party candidate Jill Stein each receiving 1 percent.

According to Forbes, the Scholastic student vote has only incorrectly mirrored the adults’ votes twice: once in 1948 and again in 1960.

Of course, Scholastic makes it clear that its student vote is not designed to be a scientifically representative sample but rather is designed as an activity to encourage student participation and current affair awareness. 

Scholastic isn’t the only company encouraging students to practice voting, meaning if your class missed Scholastic’s vote, you still have an opportunity to get involved.

Starting yesterday, Newsela began holding its own Students Vote campaign which will run until November 1.

Newsela started the initiative to support its commitment to ensure students are informed citizens before they can vote at age 18. 

"Interest and education surrounding elections and the future of our country should not start when students turn 18. It should start now. The goal of the Students Vote 2016 program is to provide a learning experience that will help students fulfill their duties of citizenship in a participatory democracy, not tomorrow, but today.”

To support teachers having their classroom participate in Students Vote, Newsela offers a series of resources such as this Teacher’s Guide to ensure that students are informed before they head to the polls.

Nicole Gorman, Senior Education World Contributor

10/18/2016