Parent and Family Involvement in Education

2006-07 School Year, From the National Household Education Surveys Program of 2007

This report presents data on parents’ and families’ involvement in their children’s education in the United States according to parents’ reports for the 2006–07 school year. The data come from the Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey (PFI) of the 2007 National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES:2007). The sample was selected using random-digit-dial methods, and the data were collected using computerassisted telephone interviewing technology. Since the focus of this First Look report is on how students’ parents interact with schools, homeschoolers are excluded from all of the analyses.

Selected Findings

• About 54 percent of students in grades K through 12 had parents who reported receiving notes or email from the school specifically about their child; 91 percent had parents who reported receiving newsletters, memos, or notices addressed to all parents; and 49 percent had parents who reported that the school had contacted them by telephone (table 1).
• A higher percentage of students in nonreligious private schools (66 percent) had parents who reported that their children’s school communicated with them via notes or e-mails compared to students in other types of schools (assigned public: 53 percent; chosen public: 56 percent) (table 1).
• Ninety-two percent of students in grades K through 12 had parents who reported receiving any information from the school on the student’s performance; 83 percent had parents who received any information about how to help with homework; 75 percent had parents who received any information about why the student was placed in particular groups or classes; and 86 percent had parents who received any information about the parents’ expected role at the student’s school (table 2).
• Eighty-nine percent of students in grades K through 12 had parents who reported that an adult member of the household had attended a general school or a parent-teacher organization or association (PTO/PTA) meeting since the beginning of the school year (table 3). Seventy-eight percent had parents who attended a regularly scheduled parent-teacher conference; 74 percent had parents who attended a school or class event; 46 percent had parents who volunteered or served on a school committee; and 65 percent had parents who participated in school fundraising.
• A lower percentage of students in grades 9 through 12 had parents who reported attending a regularly scheduled parent-teacher conference (61 percent) than students in grades K through 2 (90 percent), 3 through 5 (92 percent), and 6 through 8 (76 percent) (table 3).
• Fifty-nine percent of students in grades K through 12 had parents who were “very satisfied” with their child’s school; 64 percent had parents who were very satisfied with their child’s teachers that year; 63 percent had parents who were very satisfied with the school’s academic standards; 62 percent had parents who were very satisfied with the school’s order and discipline; and 55 percent had parents who were very satisfied with the school’s parent-staff interactions (table 4). In addition, 75 percent had parents who reported that the amount of homework assigned was “about right.”
• A higher percentage of White, non-Hispanic students (64 percent) had parents who reported being very satisfied with their children’s school compared to students of other racial/ethnic backgrounds (Black, non-Hispanic, 47 percent; Hispanic, 59 percent; Asian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic, 54 percent) (table 4).
• Ninety-four percent of students in grades K through 12 had parents who reported that they did homework outside of school. Among those students who did homework outside of school, 89 percent had parents who indicated that there was a place set aside for homework in their home, and 85 percent had parents who said that an adult in the household checked whether their homework was done (table 5).
• According to parent reports, among students in grades 6 through 12, less than 1 percent had parents who said that they did not expect their child to complete high school; 8 percent had parents who expected them to graduate from high school but not pursue postsecondary education; 8 percent had parents who expected them to attend vocational or technical school after high school; 13 percent had parents who expected them to attend 2 or more years of college; 40 percent had parents who expected them to finish a 4- or 5-year college degree; and 30 percent had parents who expected them to earn a graduate or professional degree (table 6). Eighty-one percent of students in grades 6 through 12 had parents who reported that they plan to help pay for the student’s education after high school.