For the Go Beyond Grades campaign in Tarrant County, TX, we conducted a survey of K-12 public school parents in Tarrant County to get a better understanding of parent mindsets, worries, and beliefs about their children’s education. The survey highlights the disconnect between parent perception of grade level achievement and the reality based on local assessment data.
Author: Howard Winchester
B-flation: How Good Grades Can Sideline Parents
In November 2023, Gallup partnered with Learning Heroes to better understand how parents perceive, evaluate, and take action in support of their child’s academic progress. The findings from this report highlight the issues at play for parents in understanding their child’s grade level achievement and shine a light on opportunities to better support families – especially when it comes to deciphering report cards and other measures and generating awareness of what a report card really means.
Family Engagement Impact Study: Investigating the relationship between pre-pandemic family engagement and current student and school outcomes.
While student attendance and learning outcomes got worse during the pandemic, this study found that schools with strong family engagement experienced much smaller declines in chronic absenteeism, attendance, and achievement. In partnership with TNTP, and with Harvard scholars Karen Mapp and Todd Rogers as advisors, these findings come from the first of a three-phase study, which also aims to surface successful models of engagement and improve family engagement measurement for the K-12 sector.
Parents 2023 – Go Beyond Grades
National parent/guardian data highlights parent perception of grade-level performance and the disconnect between perception and reality in Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, Houston, New York City, and Sacramento County.
Parents 2021: Going Beyond the Headlines
At a time when headlines often pit parents and educators against each other, Parents 2021: Going Beyond the Headlines tells a more nuanced and hopeful story of how increased engagement and strong agreement demonstrate a desire for more robust family-school partnerships. Learning Heroes’ sixth annual national survey dives deeply into the beliefs and perceptions of parents, teachers, and, for the first time, principals. The research is in partnership with National PTA, National Urban League, UnidosUS, and Univision.
Out-of-School-Time Programs | Paving the Way for Children to Find Passion, Purpose & Voice
With support from The Wallace Foundation, Learning Heroes and its partner Edge Research conducted qualitative and quantitative research to better understand how parents, teachers, and out-of-school time (OST) providers perceive the value of OST programs in supporting children’s social, emotional, and academic development. The research highlights the unique role OST programs play in youth development. This new data can be used to inform communications, policies, and programs.
A Year into the Pandemic: Parents’ Perspectives on Academics, State Assessments, and Education
This national parent survey, from National PTA and Learning Heroes, includes findings on parent perceptions of learning during the pandemic, their greatest concerns for their children, and how they feel about academics and assessments given the unprecedented circumstances of the past year.
Improving Public Education: Parents As Change Agents | A Research Synthesis
Learning Heroes believes that parents and guardians are key to improving schools for all students, especially those who have traditionally been underserved. The public education system currently does not have a systematic way to engage parents and guardians in understanding and acting upon information about their children’s academic and developmental progress. Research on large-scale systems change suggests that creating new sources of information that contribute to a system’s goals is one of the most powerful levers to shift a system’s purpose and values. This research synthesis from Learning Heroes and Populace highlights how parent actions can catalyze the system to be more responsive in meeting the needs of their own children and, ultimately, all students in a way that aligns with their definition of success.
Parents 2019
For four years in a row, Learning Heroes data has revealed a disconnect between parent perceptions of their child’s achievement and actual student performance. This disconnect has a significant impact on how parents engage with teachers and schools. Parents 2019 goes even further, for the first time, delving into perceptions and attitudes of parents of high school students. As the stakes get higher, how do parents of older children perceive their child’s achievement, and how does this perception shape their attitudes and involvement in their children’s education? Parents 2019 offers important insights from high school teachers and parents of K-12 children that can help shape and fuel our collective work. Contact us for more information about the research.