Parent and Family Involvement in Education, from the National Household Education Surveys Program

Amber Noel, Patrick Stark, and Jeremy Redford, AIR
,
Andrew Zukerberg, National Center for Education Statistics

These reports present data on students in the United States attending kindergarten through grade 12. The main focus of the reports is on parent and family involvement in the students’ education during the school year as reported by the students’ parents. It also includes the percentage of students who participated in selected family activities. Demographic information about students and families is presented, including students’ poverty status and parents’ education and language spoken at home, as well as school characteristics, such as school size and school type.

The data for these reports come from the National Household Education Surveys Program, Parent and Family Involvement in Education (PFI) Survey. The PFI survey is designed for students who are enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12 or are homeschooled for equivalent grades and asks questions about various aspects of parent involvement in education, such as help with homework, family activities, and parent involvement at school. 
 

Select Key Findings

Parent and Family Involvement in Education 2019: First Look (PDF)

  • In the 2018–19 school year, school communication with parents, as reported by parents, most commonly occurred through school-wide newsletters, memos, e-mails, or notices (89%).
  • On average, students in kindergarten through grade 12 had parents who reported participating in 6.5 school-related activities in the 2018–19 school year. The most common school-related activity was attending a general school or parent-teacher organization or association meeting.
  • About 8 out of 10 students in kindergarten through grade 12 (77 percent) had an amount of homework that their parents said was “about right.”
  • For students whose parents considered more than one school for the student, the factors most frequently rated as “very important” when choosing a school were the quality of teachers, principal or other staff at the school (selected for 79 percent of students); and safety, which includes student discipline (71 percent).
     

Parent and Family Involvement in Education: Results from the National Household Education Surveys Program of 2016, First Look (PDF)

  • In the 2015-16 school year, 89 percent of students in kindergarten through grade 12 had parents who reported receiving newsletters, memos, e-mail, or notices addressed to all parents from their child’s school.
  • Eighty-three percent of students in kindergarten through grade 2 had parents who felt that the amount of homework their child is assigned is “about right.” This percentage was significantly higher than the percentage for students in all other grades.
  • According to their parents, 94 percent of students in kindergarten through grade 12 did homework outside of school.
  • Overall, about 3 percent of students ages 5 through 17 were reported as being homeschooled, representing 1.7 million homeschooled students in 2016.
     

Parent and Family Involvement in Education, from the National Household Education Surveys Program of 2012, First Look (PDF)

  • Eighty-seven percent of students in kindergarten through grade 12 had parents who reported receiving newsletters, memos, e-mail, or notices addressed to all parents from their child’s school.
  • According to their parents, 96 percent of students in kindergarten through grade 12 did homework outside of school.
  • Seventy-seven percent of students attending public, assigned schools and 76 percent of students attending public, chosen schools had parents who felt that the amount of homework their child is assigned is “about right” compared with 85 percent of students attending private, religious schools.
     

Infographic: Parent Involvement

View the full-size PDF version.

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