But new data suggests that鈥檚 changing. 

In a recent of 20,000 parents, respondents said they trust communication from their children鈥檚 teachers more than any other source of information to judge whether their kids are on track. That was the case regardless of whether parents thought their children performed on grade level. 

The finding came as a surprise to Bibb Hubbard, president of Learning Heroes, a nonprofit that helps parents understand student achievement data. In , including surveys her own organization has conducted since , parents have listed grades as the primary indicator of student performance. 

鈥淔or the first time, grades are not the number one factor,鈥� she said. 鈥淭eachers really are on the front lines in terms of communicating to families about where their kids are.鈥�

As one who urges schools to level with families about student progress, Hubbard zeroed in on that point among the trove of data that 50CAN, a national education advocacy organization, released in October. 

One reason for the shift, she said, is the falling importance of grades as a dependable measure of learning. Long before COVID, and news reports pointed to examples of : While grade-point averages have steadily increased, objective measures of performance like remained flat. States and districts further relaxed grading standards during the pandemic, and parents took notice. The growth of online communication apps that allow teachers to update parents throughout the year on children鈥檚 progress have also lessened report cards鈥� influence, Hubbard said.

鈥淛ust putting the grade in the portal is not going to be sufficient for any parent right now,鈥� she added. 鈥淭hey want that connection. They want that relationship.鈥�

At Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Missouri, Algebra teacher Cicely Woodard said she tries to be as specific as possible when grading assignments by labeling tests with the skills students are learning 鈥� like exponents 鈥� so parents don鈥檛 have to guess. But she also leans on parents to understand why students might be struggling.

鈥淚鈥檒l say, 鈥楾his is what I’m observing.鈥� Then I’ll be quiet and listen,鈥� she said 鈥淚 can learn so much from parents who know their children really well.鈥�

Almost 30% of parents in the 50CAN survey said they rely on that type of communication from teachers more than any other source of information. Report card grades were second, with 20%. 

Parents who believe their children are performing below grade level value that interaction with teachers even more than those who think their kids are at or above grade level, the data shows 鈥� 36 to 28%. During the 2023-24 school year, parents who thought their children weren’t meeting expectations were more likely than others to communicate with teachers outside of parent-teacher conferences, talk to their school鈥檚 principal and consult with their child鈥檚 guidance counselor.

They also want their kids to get additional instruction. If they had the time or money, parents who think their children are below grade level would choose tutoring over organized sports and art, dance or music lessons, the survey showed. But a higher percentage of those parents also said tutoring was too expensive or wasn鈥檛 available in their community.

鈥淭hey are engaged. They care about their kids, and they are not getting the support that they necessarily need,鈥� Hubbard said.

Melony Watson, a mom of six in Fort Worth, Texas, said she鈥檚 barely looked at report cards in two years. She felt misled when one of her daughters kept making the honor roll even though she couldn鈥檛 read. 

鈥淚’m a proud parent, sitting there clapping and jumping up and down because my baby’s walking across the stage, getting certificate after certificate,鈥� Watson said. But by third grade, she told her daughter鈥檚 teacher that she saw signs of a learning disability. Her daughter wrote letters and numbers backwards and out of order. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e like, 鈥楴o, no, she鈥檚 just a COVID baby. She鈥檚 going to be a little behind.鈥� 鈥�

Watson ultimately quit her job as a substitute teacher and homeschooled her daughter for a year before enrolling her in a different school. Now, with her children in third through 12th grade, she is in frequent contact with their teachers, especially in eighth grade algebra and ninth grade social studies. 

鈥淚 get weekly updates to know what test my child has failed,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 have made myself known. If those teachers think that you don’t care, they’re not going to go the extra mile.鈥�

鈥楾ipping point鈥�

Parents aren鈥檛 the only ones who think grades provide a less-reliable predictor of success than standardized tests. Several universities, mostly Ivy league institutions, have reinstated for admissions after dropping them during the pandemic. 

鈥淚 do think that it is possible that we are nearing a tipping point with regard to grade inflation,鈥� said Adam Tyner, who wrote about the issue in a for the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute, where he is national research director. 鈥淢aybe parents are also starting to see teacher-assigned grades as a less valuable signal.鈥�

To Hubbard, the results suggest that teachers need better training on discussing test scores with parents. Surveys of teachers conducted by show educators often fear either that parents won鈥檛 believe their children are behind or that administrators will overrule their grading decisions.

鈥淚t needs to be an expectation for teachers to have ongoing communications with families 鈥� which takes time, training and support,鈥� she said. 鈥淥therwise, families will continue to be sidelined in being able to most effectively support their children’s learning and development.鈥�

The school, which serves 400 students pre-kindergarten through second grade in Maryland鈥檚 Baltimore City Public Schools, is rethinking the way it operates to boost parental involvement, said first-grade teacher Kaylah Crawford.

Crawford, who is in charge of family engagement at Arundel, said every student will lead their own parent-teacher conference this year, giving their families a glimpse of what they do in the classroom.

鈥淪tudents will be leading their conferences by saying, 鈥楾his is what I鈥檓 doing in school鈥� and then parents will be able to see (their child鈥檚 work) firsthand,鈥� Crawford said. 鈥淚t’s more engaging for families to hear from the student about how they鈥檙e performing.鈥�

Parent perception of their child鈥檚 educational progress is tricky for many schools around the nation. A recently released national study has unveiled there鈥檚 a stark gap between parents’ knowledge of their child鈥檚 performance in school and their actual achievement in the classroom.

released in November by Gallup and the nonprofit Learning Heroes, surveyed roughly 2,000 parents of K-12 public school students nationwide about their experiences with and perceptions of their child鈥檚 educational achievement.

What researchers found was that parents don鈥檛 have a complete understanding of their child鈥檚 progress, said Bibb Hubbard, founder of , a national parent advocacy organization.

Nearly 9 out of 10 parents surveyed believe their child is performing at grade level in reading (88%) and math (89%) despite standardized tests showing far fewer students are on track. showed that at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, public schools reported on average half of their students were below grade level.

鈥淲e just can鈥檛 afford to leave parents on the sidelines right now. We absolutely don’t have 9 out of 10 students performing at or above grade level, unfortunately,鈥� Hubbard told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淲e need to give parents more information.鈥�

The study also found that nearly two-thirds of parents (64%) said report cards 鈥� often considered the 鈥渉oly grail鈥� of measurements, Hubbard said 鈥� were important in determining whether their child is at grade level. And for 79% of parents surveyed, those report cards showed their children getting mostly B grades or better.

Hubbard said oftentimes, good grades equal 鈥渙n grade level鈥� for parents.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 because they鈥檝e not been told otherwise,鈥� she said. 鈥淕rades don鈥檛 necessarily reflect grade-level mastery. You can also have your fourth grader getting an A or B in reading and that鈥檚 because they are reading at a second-grade level and they are getting B鈥檚 on their quizzes at a second-grade level.鈥�

Crawford said her building principal strives to be transparent with parents about grades, but recently it has become more evident that some students complete homework without understanding all of the content.

鈥�(Turning in finished homework) doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean that they鈥檙e able to read or even always able to complete work independently,鈥� Crawford said. 鈥淪o one of the things that we鈥檝e done to target some of those discrepancies is starting different family programming.鈥�

Arundel Elementary School launched a program called Family University in December, Crawford said. Parents can communicate with school staff to learn more about what鈥檚 happening in the classroom. They will also get feedback about what their child needs to work on academically.

鈥淲e learned through every program that we have within the building that the goal is to teach the parents something that would better prepare them to have a scholar within the school system,鈥� Crawford said.

When parents are more informed about their child鈥檚 academic progress, they are more likely to take action and discuss concerns with their child鈥檚 teacher, Hubbard said.

The study found that 97% of parents who know their child is below grade level in math are worried about their child鈥檚 math skills. Only 22% of the parents who knew their child was at or above grade level in math were concerned about their child鈥檚 math skills.

Parents were also asked about what worries they have about their children.

鈥淔or the parents who perceive their child to be at or above grade level, their top worries are social media and emotional well-being 鈥� reading and math fall to the very bottom of their worries,鈥� Hubbard said. 鈥淔or those parents who have information that their child is not performing at grade level, their number one worry is math or reading.鈥�

Researchers also unearthed racial differences in parents’ perceptions of how well their child was doing in school. The study introduced a hypothetical scenario to participants where their child receives a B in math but has two below-grade-level math test scores. While more than half of parents (56%) said they would be very or extremely concerned, Black parents were more likely to say they would be concerned (72%) compared with Hispanic (56%) and white parents (52%). 

Black and Hispanic parents were also more aware of their child鈥檚 academic performance in the study, Hubbard said.

Black (42%) and Hispanic (40%) parents were found less likely than white parents (54%) to say their child was performing above grade level in reading, with a similar finding in math. 

Contradicting that Black parents don鈥檛 care about their child鈥檚 education, Hubbard said, 鈥淏lack parents in particular are taking more action, thinking and more deeply worrying. The Black parent in this dataset really emerges as the super active parent that鈥檚 really focused on academics.鈥�

Lakisha Young, co-founder of Oakland REACH, a parent empowerment group that recently launched a large-scale parent-led tutoring program, said Black parents in Oakland have been more aware that something isn鈥檛 right with their child鈥檚 achievement, but they don鈥檛 know what to do about it.

鈥淭hey’re definitely plugged in around something not being right,鈥� Young said. 鈥淲e asked our parents what was keeping them up at night and they just said, 鈥業 know my child’s not reading on the level they should be. But I’m not really getting a lot of help from the school to figure out the best thing for me to do to move forward.鈥� 鈥�

The parent perception problem in education is solvable, Hubbard said 鈥� parents need to look beyond their child鈥檚 grades and engage with teachers to get to the bottom of their achievement.

鈥淭eachers say that the number one way to know how your child is achieving is to ask them,鈥� Hubbard writes in the study. 鈥淎sking teachers to unpack those factors and focus on grade-level learning is how to know where to lean in and help.鈥�

Young said when her own son is struggling in his eighth-grade classes, he鈥檚 not the one to inform her 鈥� his teachers are. 

鈥淚 think things that continue to be helpful for families is to be able to feel like they can engage with the school and I think it really starts with building a relationship early,鈥� Young said. 鈥淜ind of (letting) the school know, 鈥業’m here, I’m accessible. I care. I want to understand these things about what’s going on with my kid.鈥� 鈥�

Learning Heroes has been working to boost parent engagement across the nation, most recently with its campaign. The campaign partners with local nonprofits to connect parents with teachers and helps them understand achievement scores, among other resources. 

In addition to the national project, Go Beyond Grades has local campaigns, most recently launched in St. Louis, Missouri, but is also in New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Houston, Boston and Sacramento.

鈥淕rades are important, but we need to unpack that a little bit and get some additional information about how your child is doing,鈥� Hubbard said. 鈥淭he call to action is pretty simple.鈥�

Disclosure: The Carnegie Corporation of New York provides financial support to Learning Heroes and 蜜桃影视.

While her son, Roy, would ace spelling tests at the Leadership School in St. Louis, Missouri, his mom said, he would cry while doing homework because he couldn鈥檛 read any of the questions.

Ross-Porter鈥檚 realization solidified when she received a letter in the mail from his public charter school 鈥� part of a new statewide literacy awareness campaign 鈥� informing her that Roy had a reading deficiency.

鈥淗e made it through kindergarten and first grade and nobody said he was behind or he needed tutoring or extra help,鈥� Ross-Porter said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know where the disconnect is.鈥�

Ross-Porter is like many parents around the St. Louis area who are now receiving the same letters in the mail, explaining that their child scored below grade level in reading.

The letters are coming as a surprise for some who are unaware of how their child is really doing in school, said Rachel Powers, a partner with a St. Louis education foundation.

鈥淧arents really just don鈥檛 know. Everyone thinks, 鈥楳y kid is good. My kid is fine鈥�,鈥� Powers said. 鈥淥r maybe they鈥檙e like, 鈥楽omething seems off, but I don鈥檛 really know what to do about it. The report card seems OK, but they are struggling with their homework.鈥欌��

The Opportunity Trust and , a national parent advocacy organization, announced on Oct. 24 the launch of . It鈥檚 an awareness campaign for Missouri families in the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County, they said,to improve the gap between the perception and reality of their child鈥檚 progress in the classroom.

Go Beyond Grades STL is partnering with St. Louis nonprofits to connect with parents in order to help them understand their child鈥檚 achievement scores and teach them how to communicate with schools, along with offering them other resources. It鈥檚 also working with schools to improve relationships between teachers and families.

The campaign is part of a national Go Beyond Grades movement organized earlier this year by Learning Heroes, in New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Houston, Boston and Sacramento.

Learning Heroes representative David Park said the organization created the national Go Beyond Grades campaign because of the increasing number of parents who are unaware of how their child is doing at school.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a significant amount of parents who believe their child is fine 鈥� and it’s not their fault,鈥� Park said. 鈥淓ighty percent of students nationally come home with a B or above on their report card.鈥�

In the St. Louis area, that number is nearly 90%, according to an August survey commissioned by Learning Heroes and conducted by Edge Research, a Virginia-based research firm. The survey found that 96% of St. Louis parents believed their child was at grade level in reading and 94% thought their child was at grade level in math.

Most students aren鈥檛 even close, Powers said.

St. Louis has been hit especially hard by the pandemic, which burdened elementary and middle schoolers with some of the worst learning damage suffered by any students in the United States, recent research shows.

In 2022, 42% of students in the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County were at grade level for reading, while 36% were at grade level for math, according to .

In just the City of St. Louis, the numbers drop to 23% for reading and 17% for math.

鈥淧arent-teacher conferences are 15 minutes (long),鈥� Park said. 鈥淲hat we鈥檙e pushing more than anything is ongoing communication with the child鈥檚 teacher 鈥� setting up a learning plan and touching base regularly 鈥� that鈥檚 what teachers say is the most important.鈥�

Ross-Porter said that would be essential for her. The second-grade mom said she can鈥檛 understand Roy鈥檚 achievement scores and what they mean for her son鈥檚 progress. She said she doesn鈥檛 even know what the school letter about Roy鈥檚 reading scores really means.

Mary LaPak, a representative for Rockwood School District, the largest public school system in the St. Louis area, said while the district hasn鈥檛 worked with Go Beyond Grades STL, it values a trusting relationship between parents and teachers.

鈥淲e encourage transparency and recognize that open communication is vital between parents and Rockwood staff in order to support all students,鈥� LaPak said in an email. 鈥淩ockwood parents are essential partners and allies in the education of our children.鈥�

Powers said parent-teacher communication about the recent reading letters is one of the main reasons The Opportunity Trust launched Go Beyond Grades in the St. Louis area. The letters are part of a new literacy law passed earlier this year in Missouri.

The legislative piece was included in the , created by the state education department. It鈥檚 a comprehensive plan that aims to increase evidence-based literacy instruction, a part of the science of reading, in order to improve the .

The law requires schools to identify students who are reading at one or more grade levels below what they should be. If a student is found with a reading deficiency, parents are sent a reading success plan, which provides a set of goals and skills needed in order for the child to reach their grade level. 

鈥淲e wanted to get the word out about what that law means for families, what it means for schools, how families and teachers and educators connect and work together to really address this issue that is happening,鈥� Powers said. 

Powers said staff with Go Beyond Grades have been contacting St. Louis area schools to pinpoint when letters will be sent and learn how they plan on implementing the reading success plans. They also have been talking to parents about what they can expect if they receive a letter and what resources they should seek out to help their child.

鈥淲e want to make sure parents don’t just get a letter at their house and then they go on about their business,鈥� Powers said. 鈥淎nd then it kind of gets lost in the shuffle. Like, no, this is really important, this really means something if you’re getting this letter, this is really important for your family.鈥�

When parents are involved in their children鈥檚 schooling, students show higher academic achievement, school engagement and motivation, according to a of 448 independent studies on parent involvement.

High levels of family engagement also helped decrease chronic absenteeism for students before the pandemic, according to research by Learning Heroes and other partners.

Ross-Porter said her involvement in Go Beyond Grades STL prepared her for October parent-teacher conferences. She and Powers worked together to decipher Roy鈥檚 test scores so she could arrive armed with a long list of questions to ask Roy鈥檚 teacher.

鈥淭he questions that she gave me were able to get me better answers, just because of the way the questions are worded,鈥� Ross-Porter said.

Powers said she hopes Go Beyond Grades STL can one day go beyond the boundaries of the St. Louis area and help parents across Missouri. For now, billboards are going up around the city and county to alert families to the importance of being involved in their child鈥檚 education.

鈥淗ow do we make sure folks are clear about what to expect from their schools and how to partner with their educators to really support their children? Because at the end of the day, that’s what we’re fighting for,鈥� Powers said. 鈥淲hat we’re trying to really support is our kids, so they can have a strong future with the basics of reading and math.鈥�

Disclosure: The Opportunity Trust provides financial support to 蜜桃影视. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York provide financial support to Learning Heroes and 蜜桃影视.

The council will include representatives from 14 organizations that advocate for giving parents a voice in their children鈥檚 education 鈥� including families involved in charters, homeschooling and private schools.

In preparation for the 2022-23 school year, the council鈥檚 鈥渓istening sessions鈥� are slated to explore what schools can do to help students recover from the pandemic, according to the department鈥檚 announcement. The meetings will emphasize finding 鈥渃onstructive ways to help families engage at the local level.鈥� 

鈥淲ould I have liked to see it happen a year ago? Of course,鈥� said Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, one of the groups involved. She began advocating for such an initiative during the Trump administration, but added, 鈥淚t’s the first time where we’re really getting 鈥� a group of folks representing parents and families at the table. It’s unprecedented.鈥�

Other participating groups include the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, which supports families who have children with disabilities; Mocha Moms, a network of Black moms鈥� groups; and the National PTA.

In public comments, Cardona, the father of two teenagers, frequently notes that he鈥檚 a 鈥減arent first鈥� and has made 鈥渞oundtable鈥� discussions with parents part of his visits to schools across the country. But his department has also faced criticism from parent leaders who say he鈥檚 been more vocal about the pandemic鈥檚 than on parents who had to endure months of remote learning and are still asking for tutoring to help their children catch up. Meanwhile, parents have gained new political power. Those who felt overlooked by unions and Democratic leaders who were slow to reopen schools helped tilt the 2021 Virginia governor鈥檚 race in favor of Republican Glenn Youngkin.

Rodrigues said she pushed for bringing the 鈥渂oldest, baddest and most beautiful parent organizers in the game鈥� to council gatherings. Ashara Baker, a Rochester, New York, charter school advocate, and Lakisha Young, CEO of The Oakland Reach 鈥� which opened remote learning hubs and trains parents to be literacy tutors 鈥� are expected to participate in the council鈥檚 first gathering in July. 

The next step, Rodrigues said, is for the department to formally define 鈥減arent and family engagement鈥� so it can hold districts accountable. 

鈥淩ight now, family engagement can kind of mean whatever you want it to be,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t can be, 鈥榃e showed you a PowerPoint. We sent you an email. We sent a flyer home in a backpack.鈥� That鈥檚 not good enough to get big-time federal money.鈥� 

Bibb Hubbard, president of Learning Heroes, which helps parents understand their children鈥檚 academic progress, said the American Rescue Plan鈥檚 requirement that districts include parent perspectives in planning how to spend relief funds was a significant development.

鈥淚 have seen this team step up and sincerely make an effort to figure out how to be representative of all parents as they look at their policies and guidance,鈥� she said, adding that Cardona has joined the organization鈥檚 parent town hall for the past two years. 

But she added that she hopes the department 鈥済ives the council some specific authority to shape policy鈥� and includes parents 鈥渢raditionally not listened to.鈥� 

Megan Bacigalupi, executive director of CA Parent Power, said that should include parents in California, 鈥渨here schools were closed the longest.鈥� State-level committees, she said, haven鈥檛 been as inclusive. A on enrollment loss, announced in April, doesn鈥檛 include parent representatives. 

Like Rodrigues, Sonya Thomas, executive director of Nashville Propel, a local advocacy group 鈥� and part of the 鈥� told President Joe Biden while he was still campaigning not to ignore parent perspectives. 

鈥淒o they have the real-life stories of parents who are from struggling communities?鈥� she asked about the new council. 鈥淚 want to see real partnership. It鈥檚 really taking our feedback and using it, and not being defensive with it.鈥�