Almost half of Americans say the nation’s public high schools need reforming, a poll released Wednesday found.

Only 9 percent of Americans said high school students are being significantly challenged by their courses, according to a poll conducted for the nonprofit Educational Testing Service.

“Most Americans feel the high school experience is a broken experience,” said Kurt Landgraf, the testing service’s president and CEO.

The nationwide survey found strong majorities of Americans want teachers who are proven experts in their subject fields (91 percent) and favor paying more for qualified teachers even if that requires raising taxes (80 percent). They also support requiring students to pass a test on core subjects to graduate (80 percent).

In addition, 77 percent of Americans surveyed called for more academically rigorous courses for all students, while 71 percent said there should be wider choices of types of high schools, and 72 percent called for an individualized course of study for each student.

The survey, dubbed “Ready for the Real World? Americans Speak on High School Reform,” was conducted in April by Democratic pollster Peter Hart and Republican pollster David Winston. It was the fifth annual survey commissioned by the Educational Testing Service to tap views on education issues.

The poll findings come as educators and political leaders nationwide are debating how to improve public education and lamenting high dropout rates and slow or stagnant improvements in secondary school. Americans care deeply about the quality of their schools and are concerned that, without improvements, the nation will not be able to compete in today’s global economy, Landgraf said.

“Americans view our public education system as central to our country’s success in the world,” he said, but are frustrated by the slow pace of reforms after two decades of improvement attempts.

Nonetheless, the survey found that about half of Americans believe elementary schools should get top priority for new reform efforts.