Why it is important to get the parent perspective...A new survey uncovers an interesting gap between what low-income parents and students want from high school and what high school educators see as their main job.
The survey asked low-income parents and students to rank the main aims of high school, and 42 percent of the parents and 48 percent of the students put college preparation at the top. Only nine percent of teachers did the same.
The study points up a host of other interesting dynamics, some of which are depressingly familiar refrains from other studies. Here is one: seven in 10 students reported strong intentions to attend college, but fewer than three in 10 said they felt prepared to handle the coursework. Only six in 10 teachers expressed confidence that they know what students really need to be prepared for college.
