Parents are more likely to engage in their children鈥檚 academics if they know that they鈥檙e struggling. But most parents gauge their children鈥檚 performance based on report cards, which often paint a misleading picture of how students are doing and lull parents into a false sense of security.
conducted by Learning Heroes, a nonprofit focused on ensuring parents have accurate information about students鈥� progress, and the polling firm Gallup, researchers found that many parents are relying on just a fragment of the information needed to fully understand their children鈥檚 learning progress.
Usually, that fragment of information comes from report cards.
The amount of information parents have about their kids鈥� academic performance matters, according to the survey, as parents who were aware of their children鈥檚 academic struggles were more likely to rate them among their top concerns and engage teachers in conversations about their children鈥檚 performance.
The survey鈥檚 findings dovetail with a growing body of research showing that, increasingly, students鈥� grades aren鈥檛 providing an accurate picture of how they鈥檙e doing academically. While students鈥� achievement has slid to historic lows since the start of the pandemic, a number of studies have shown that their classroom grades have inched up. Meanwhile, educators aren鈥檛 exactly thrilled with the traditional A through F grading system, fearing that the marks offer inaccurate or incomplete views of achievement at a time when students are struggling more than ever to master grade-level content.
The report cards that convey those grades are far from standardized, and often reflect how students act in class鈥攚hether they鈥檙e engaged and asking questions or showing up on time, for example鈥攔ather than solely their mastery of the content. And absent a more holistic view of students鈥� success鈥攊ncluding clear information about standardized test scores and feedback from classroom teachers鈥攑arents aren鈥檛 likely to worry about their children鈥檚 progress and could miss critical opportunities to support or advocate for them.
鈥淭o a parent, a good grade equals grade level, and as long as there is that perception, parents will continue to be sidelined in supporting their children鈥檚 education in a multitude of ways that we believe will get students further, faster,鈥� said Bibb Hubbard, the founder and president of Learning Heroes.
About 64 percent of parents said they feel report cards are 鈥渁n important measure to know whether their child is on grade level,鈥� according to the survey. About 80 percent of those parents said their child is receiving mostly B鈥檚 or better.
But the reality is that many students are struggling academically.
Students suffered major setbacks in math and reading achievement during the pandemic, regardless of race or ethnicity, income level, or gender. Fourth and 8th graders last year scored on par with their counterparts in the 1990s on the National Assessment of Educational Progress in math and reading, virtually wiping out two decades of progress on the exam that offers a state-by-state comparison of academic performance.
Despite this, the Gallup and Learning Heroes survey found that the vast majority of parents (about 90 percent) believed their child was at or above grade level in reading and math.
Ninety-seven percent of the parents who believed their child was either not at or above grade level in math were worried about their child鈥檚 math skills. That鈥檚 compared with 22 percent of parents who believed their child was at least on grade level and were worried about their math skills.
鈥楢 call to action to look further鈥�
The parents who thought their children were behind academically were 24 percentage points more likely than other parents to have talked with their child鈥檚 teachers about their academic progress.
The study also found that parents who know their child is not performing at grade level in math and reading generally place their children鈥檚 math and reading skills at the top of a list of 12 possible worries or concerns.
Parents who don鈥檛 think their children are struggling place math and reading skills at the bottom of the list of worries, and show the most concern about social issues: the impact of social media (71 percent), their child鈥檚 stress or anxiety (55 percent), and their emotional well-being (48 percent).
鈥淎s parents, we鈥檙e always worrying about our kids,鈥� Hubbard said. 鈥淏ut what we鈥檙e worrying about can really be influenced by how we think our kids are doing in school, so we need to make sure parents have all of the information.鈥�
Given more information, the survey showed parents would be more likely to be concerned about their children falling behind.
In a hypothetical situation in which their children received a B on their report card in math but also had two below grade-level scores鈥攐n a year-end math assessment and a districtwide math benchmarking test鈥�56 percent of parents surveyed said they would be 鈥渧ery鈥� or 鈥渆xtremely鈥� concerned about their child鈥檚 academic progress. Another 32 percent said they鈥檇 be 鈥渟omewhat鈥� concerned and may not know how to interpret the conflicting information, according to the report.
The findings suggest that 鈥減arents may need to recognize B鈥檚 as a call to look further,鈥� the report says.
The nationally representative survey results are based on responses from Oct. 2-9 from 1,971 adults who are parents or caregivers of a child in kindergarten through 12th grade. Parents who said their child had a diagnosed and significant cognitive disability were excluded from the survey.
Teachers, parents should work together
Many teachers don鈥檛 think their grading systems are an effective way of giving feedback to students, yet the A-F system persists in the vast majority of schools.
Regardless of the grading system a school uses, it鈥檚 important that everyone has a mutual understanding about what the grades represent, Hubbard said.
Integrating as many data points as possible鈥攔eport cards, state- and district-level assessments, and teacher feedback鈥攊s key to understanding whether a child is performing at grade level. Knowing whether a child is at grade level is important to supporting them, as parents and teachers who recognize a child is behind can take different steps to intervene.
Parents and teachers should both take responsibility for filling the information gap, Hubbard said. Parents should be wary of relying on letter grades alone, and proactively reach out to teachers to see how their children are doing. Teachers and school leaders should be more forthcoming with students鈥� assessment scores. They should also explain what a report card does (and doesn鈥檛) measure, and walk through assessment scores with parents when they鈥檙e available, Hubbard said.
鈥淲hat we found in this research is that parents are going to take these really important steps when they have access to that information, so a little bit of information goes a long way,鈥� Hubbard said. 鈥淭here are so many intractable issues in our society, but this is not one of them. This disconnect is solvable.鈥�
Other findings from the report include:
- The portion of parents who say their child is at grade level varies by race and ethnicity. About 42 percent of Black and 40 percent of Hispanic parents said their child is performing at grade level, compared to 54 percent of white parents.
- Parents with a child who has an IEP or 504 plan accounted for 22 percent of respondents in the study. About half said their child is below grade level in reading and math, a significantly higher percentage than other parents.
- Among the minority of parents, 10 percent, who said their child is below grade level in reading, more than one-third (36 percent) also report seeing mostly B鈥檚 or better on their child鈥檚 report card in the subject.
