Boosting Parental Involvement: Results from a National Survey of Parents Conducted by Public Agenda for Communicating for Social Change with support from the GE Foundation January 2012

Who We Are Public Agenda Communicating for Social Change GE Foundation Non-profit, non-partisan opinion research and engagement organization with extensive work in K-12 education Communicating for Social Change Utilizing democratic problem-solving to build momentum and reflect citizen values GE Foundation Supports U.S. and international efforts to develop higher standards of health, education, and environmental awareness around the globe.

Methodology Goal: Learn more about how parents define and think about their involvement with their child’s education and school Telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 846 parents of children in public school Interviews conducted from May 31 – July 3, 2011, in English and Spanish Included landline and cell phone samples Full results, plus additional analysis of most involved, knowledgeable parents versus least involved, knowledgeable parents In 2012, Communicating for Social Change will conduct research aimed at finding strategies to help least engaged parents become more involved

Most parents worry about the quality of the U.S. education system Half say that U.S. education is falling behind the rest of the world Only half are confident that local high school graduates have skills for college Q: When it comes to education, do you think the United States is getting ahead of the rest of the world, just keeping up, or is it falling behind? Q: When students graduate from your local high schools, would you say that most graduate with the skills to succeed in college, or do you think that most of them do not have the skills to succeed in college?

But most are optimistic about their own child’s schooling 88% are very or somewhat confident their child’s school is doing “a good job teaching them what they need to know to be ready for next year”. 68% say their child’s academic performance in the past school year was "excellent" (35%) or "very good” (33%). 37% give their child’s school an “A” rating, and 38% give their child’s school a “B” rating 24% give their child’s school a rating of “C” or below Criticism of schools generally, but high approval rates for child’s school is a long-term pattern in polling on education

However, many parents are poorly informed in key areas Nearly half admit minimal knowledge about how their child’s school stacks up academically And few know much about local school leadership 28% say they know “a lot” about the qualifications of their child's principal 23% say they know “a lot” about what the superintendent is actually responsible for. Q: How much would you say you know about how your child’s school ranks academically compared to others in your area?

Many parents don’t know what their children should be learning, or what their education options are Fewer than 4 in 10 know a lot about other school options Only 22% could name an academic milestone—such as learning the times table—that their child had met in the past school year Q: How much would you say you know about the options you have to send your child to another public or charter school [if you wanted to]? Key to other answers

Many parents question the need for more challenging academics I would like my child’s school to have more difficult classes, even if it means my child will have to work much harder to get the same grades they have been getting My child works hard enough as is, the school does not need to make classes more difficult Refused Don’t know

Q: Which of these three statements comes closest to your view? Parents are also split on the importance of their child attending a top college Q: Which of these three statements comes closest to your view? It’s fine if my child does not want to go to college, that is their choice As long as my child goes to a college that he/she likes, it doesn’t really matter to me which he/she goes to It is very important that my child goes to the best college they can get into

Most parents question the wisdom of too much academic pressure 78% say the statement “as long as children try hard, they shouldn't feel bad about poor grades in school” is close to their own view 47% say it is “very close” 8 in 10 agree that “as much as parents try to help, children’s academic success still has a lot to do with their natural abilities”.

Parents agree that parental involvement is crucial -and that most schools welcome it 65% say they “wish [they] could be doing more” about their involvement in their children’s education (vs. only 34% who are “satisfied with the way things are”) 68% say that the quality of their local schools is “one of the main reasons” they live in their current neighborhood 6 in 10 say that in their household, homework almost always gets done at a regular, set time (about 4 in 10 say it “depends on the day”) 60% say their child’s school “goes out of its way to encourage and welcome parents to get involved” 33% say their school “mostly leaves it up to parents”, and only 6% say their school “seems to discourage” parents

Most common forms of parental involvement At least once this school year 3-10 times Attend a scheduled parent teacher conference 80% 42% Contact your child’s teachers, either in person, by phone or online OUTSIDE OF parent-teacher conferences 77% 52% Attend a sporting event, play or other extracurricular activity that your child participated in 45% Take your child to a concert, art exhibit or other cultural event 70% 59% Attend a PTA meeting 32% 50% Attend a public hearing or meeting about your school 30% 34%

Most parents see less need for involvement in the later grades Q: Parents are often less involved in their children’s academic work in later grades. Which of these statements comes closer to your feeling about parental involvement as children get older? Less parental involvement in later grades probably means a student’s academic work will suffer It is natural to be less involved– it is a sign the student is learning to be independent and to manage school on their own Don’t know Refused

“Major reasons” why parental involvement declines in later grades - according to parents with children in grades 6-12 47% Schoolwork becomes more difficult for parents to help with 31% Parents don’t always know the right questions to ask their children about how they are doing in school Older kids have independent schedules so it is harder to find time to really talk to them about school 22% Teachers don’t really want parents interfering with their classes 21% There are so many teachers in later grades that it is hard to keep in contact with them

So what would help? 67% 58% 55% 45% 25% 24% 6% 33% 4% 34% 7% 12% 35% % responding “very effective” % responding “somewhat effective” % responding “not too effective” E-mail, phone or in person conversations four times a year with all of your child’s teachers about how your child is doing academically in school 67% 24% 6% Knowing more about what benchmarks and skills your child should be mastering at the end of every school year 58% 33% 4% Offering morning, evening and weekend appointments with teachers and school officials for parents who work 55% 34% 7% Requiring the parents of failing students to attend programs that teach them how to help their kids learn 45% 12% Having a public ranking of how teachers do each year according to their students’ test scores made available 35% 16% Having more charter schools available in your area 25% 26% 22%

A closer look: The most involved and least involved parents Most involved parents—based on their responses to the survey More likely to be mothers More likely to be college-educated No clear racial or ethnic differences No clear differences between single-parent and two-parent families

Key differences between most and least involved parents Most Involved Least Involved 54% say they are “very involved” both at school and in child’s academic work (at home) 21% say they are “very involved” both at school and in child’s academic work (at home) 81% say they know “a lot” about “specific academic milestones” child should have met in past year 37% say they know “a lot” about specific academic milestones child should have met in past year 64% say they know “a lot” about other schools their children could attend—either public or charter 14% say they know “a lot” about other schools their children could attend—either public or charter

More key differences between most and least involved parents Most Involved Least Involved 98%: Contacted a teacher outside of parent-teacher conferences at least once during past school year 55%: Contacted a teacher outside of parent-teacher conferences at least once during past school year 71%: Quarterly talks with teachers would be very effective in improving parent involvement. 58%: Quarterly conversations with teachers would be very effective in improving parent 71%: Knowing more about child’s academic benchmarks would be “very effective” way to improve parent involvement 55%: Knowing more about child’s academic benchmarks would be “very effective” way to improve parent involvement 51%: BA or higher 53%: High school diploma or less

Possible Strategies to Improve Parental Involvement Insure that scheduled meetings include information about benchmarks Make key information available at other school events—sports, plays, etc. Focus on the need for families to stay involved in later grades Find ways to increase communication between teachers and parents—the most trusted and important contact point Find ways to adapt to schedules of working parents Focus more on non-academic areas—student motivation, teaching persistence, responsibility More research, more innovation

Want to Learn More? For complete survey results, visit Public Agenda online: www.publicagenda.org/pages/engaging_parents Join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter (@PublicAgenda) Also see Public Agenda’s related studies: Are We Beginning to See the Light? Five key trends in public opinion on science, technology, engineering and math education in public schools (2010) What's Trust Got to Do With It? A Communications and Engagement Guide for School Leaders Tackling the Problem of Persistently Failing Schools (2011) A Time to Learn, A Time to Grow: California Parents Talk About Summertime and Summer Programs (2010)