The Effect of a Parental Communication on Student Achievement

Without parental involvement, many educators believe that children will experience problems and their success will be jeopardized. This study was conducted to determine the extent of the impact between student success and parental communication, based on results from a standardized assessment and student grades. In a large urban district, where 98.7% of students were considered low income, 48 students from one of the schools participated. The parents of the 48 fourth graders received a letter, which outlined ways parents could be involved in their childs education. The grade point averages and the ISAT reading and math scores were recorded for each child as a third and fourth grader. The ISAT data were then compared to students in another school, in the district, whose parents did not receive the letter. The grade point average however was not compared to similar students, but used as a comparison across the school years for each individual student. An analysis of the paired samples t-test indicated that there was not a statistically significant impact between parental communication and academic success. It is however, important to note that much of the research on student success and parental involvement is not measured quantitatively and therefore further research is necessary. In addition, parental involvement has been defined in so many different ways, in other studies, making it very difficult to draw sound conclusions.