What does the research on family/parent involvement say?

Students with involved parents are more likely to…

…earn higher grades and test scores

…be promoted, pass their classes, and earn credits

…attend school regularly

…have better social skills and improved behavior

…graduate and go on to postsecondary education

Increasing parental involvement in education may be an important strategy for addressing the
achievement gap that has been growing wider in schools across the nation. In other words, helping
parents to become involved in their children’s education may be a critical strategy for ensuring that
‘no child is left behind’.

In the past, we may have viewed parent involvement as an end in itself - something that would make
our jobs as educators easier, and something that just seemed like a nice thing to do. The recent research
has made it clear however, that parent involvement is not the end- it is the means to the end- a strategy for
attaining our real goal, which is improved student success in school and in life. It has become increasingly
clear that we need parents as much as they need us- and that our best chance for improving our students’
success is to fully embrace parents as partners in the education of our children.

Characteristics

Research shows that high-performing schools tend to have a combination of many characteristics, which were narrowed into these nine areas:

1. A clear and shared focus
2. High standards & expectations for all students
3. Effective school leadership
4. High levels of collaboration & communication
5. Curriculum, instruction & assessments aligned with state standards
6. Frequent monitoring of teaching & learning
7. Focused professional development
8. A supportive learning environment
9. High levels of parent & community involvement