New Gov’t Study on Parent Involvement in Education

A report was released in last month which focused in large part on parent and family involvement in the students’ education during the 2011-2012 school year.  This was based on data reported by the students’ parents. It included questions relating to homework, parental involvement in the school, school-initiated communication, and participation in other educational activities.  Here are some interesting highlights from that report:

Homework:

According to their parents, 96% of students in K-12 did homework outside of school.  The vast majority of those who did homework, 86%, had a place set aside for homework in their home.  Nearly 67% of students had their homework checked by an adult in the household.

Image: Young boy doing homework together with his father via Shutterstock

Parents were asked if the amount of homework given to students was “about right”

77% of students attending public, assigned schools had parents who thought the homework load was about right.

76% of students attending public, chosen schools had parents who felt that the homework load was about right.

85% of students attending private schools had parents who felt that the homework load was about right.

Parent participation in school activities:

87% of parents participated in the PTA/PTO or general school meeting.

76% of students had parents who reported attending parent-teacher conferences

74% of students had parents who attended a school or class event

42% of students had parents who volunteered or severed on a school committee

58% of students had parents who participated in school fund raising

33% of students had parents who met with a guidance counselor

Parent communication with the school:

Parents reported that the most common communication with the school was through newsletters, memos, email or notices addressed to all parents. 87% of parents reported receiving these announcements from their child’s school.

57% of students had parents who reported receiving notes or emails from the school specifically about their child.

41% of students had parents who reported that the school had contacted them by telephone.

School completion:

 Parents were asked the highest level of education their child was expected to attain:

1% did not expect their child to complete high school

9% did not expect their child to pursue education after high school

8% were expected to attend vocational or technical school after high school

17% were expected to attend 2 or more years of college 28% were expected to finish a 4 or 5 year college degree

37% were expected to earn a graduate or professional degree.

Student Participation in Other Educational Activities:

Parents were asked what activities students (grades K-12) had done in the past month:

54% had attended an event sponsored by a community, religious or ethnic group.

42% had attended an athletic or sporting event in which this child was not a player

39% had visited the library

38% had visited a bookstore

31% had gone to a play, a concert or other live show

21% had visited an art gallery, a museum or a historical site

19% had visited a zoo or an aquarium.

This report was really fascinating. The data was broken down by locale, school size, student race/ethnicity, parents’ highest educational level and more. You can look through the statistics yourself by visiting the National Center for Educational Statistics: Parent and Family Involvement in Education… 2012 

You might also be interested in:

the post I wrote about the new government statistics about homeschooling (based on this same Aug. 2013 NCES report). It showed that numbers of students who are homeschooling has continued to increase since the previous (2007) report.