In-School and Out-of-School Factors That Build Student Achievement

Parental Beliefs and Expectations

The beliefs and attitudes of parents may play a significant role in student success in becoming competent readers. In the Nashville study, parents of 459 students responded to questions about their expectations for their child's learning and their perception of whether they had been supported by their child's teacher. Specifically, they were asked about two things:

• Please check the highest level of education you expect your child to eventually complete some day.



• How much help or encouragement have you received from your child's teacher?

Analysis of the data showed that parents' responses to these questions independently could account for about 18 percent of the difference in student reading achievement scores (NCE). This variable also was significantly associated with students' reading achievement scores in the multivariate analysis that was conducted (see Exhibit 2). Clearly, students benefit when parents (1) set high standards for their child's performance in school, and (2) feel personally supported by partnerships they have formed with their child's teacher.