Secondary Schools Should Work To Involve Parents In Educational Planning Process

April 6, 2004

IOWA CITY, Iowa—School districts should take an aggressive, systematic approach to involving parents in the educational planning process for secondary school students, according to a new report from ACT. Strong parental involvement in the planning process can help ensure the best outcomes for students after high school and should begin no later than at the middle school level.

"Traditionally, schools have involved parents in many ways, such as the PTA, parent/teacher conferences and other activities," said Richard J. Noeth, director of ACT's Office of Policy Research and a co-author of the report. "But additional and more aggressive methods are needed to reach out and pull parents into the process."

The research conducted by ACT for the report indicates that most students rely on their parents for help in planning for college and the future. The findings, however, suggest parents often don't have the timely, accurate information they need to guide their children toward the best decisions. This is particularly true of parents who have not gone to college themselves.

"Parents can be great motivators and supporters, but they often lack the tools, information, and resources necessary to help their kids make informed choices about their education," said Noeth.

By developing a systematic plan to involve parents in the educational planning process, schools can help fill that informational gap and increase the chances that students will make the right decisions to accomplish their future goals.

"It's not enough to simply send information home with students," said Noeth. "Schools must form an active partnership with parents when it comes to planning for their children's future."

The ACT report points to four key areas in which schools should involve parents in their children's postsecondary planning beginning no later than middle school:

Academic preparation – Educating parents on the connection between middle school/high school courses and postsecondary opportunities.
Assessment information – Sharing test results with students and parents together and explaining how this information can be used as a tool to guide educational planning.
College planning – Helping parents understand the options available to students (e.g., four-year versus two-year programs, types of degrees, etc.) as well as college application procedures and deadlines.
Financial aid – Helping parents understand college costs, what types of financial aid are available, application procedures and deadlines, etc.

"It's important to start this planning process early, as many decisions that students make in middle school can have implications on what options they will have later on," said Noeth. "Schools' engagement of parents should continue through the high school years, since parent involvement, for a number of reasons, tends to decline as students reach that level."

As part of the study, ACT researchers looked at two urban high schools that are making efforts to engage parents in the educational planning process. Both schools serve largely low-income minority students whose parents did not attend college—generally considered an at-risk student population and yet both are known for sending the large majority of their students to college.

Teachers, counselors, and administrators at each of these two schools work closely with students and their parents to develop post-high school goals early in the students' secondary school experience. School officials recognized that educational planning and college attendance were unfamiliar concepts for many students and their families. They began providing resources and tools to help students and their parents set educational goals, establish plans, and make postsecondary decisions.

"The success these schools have had in sending typically at-risk students to college shows the value of bringing parents into the educational planning process," said Noeth. "They provide an excellent example of what schools can accomplish with the right initiative."

The report recommends that all school districts should document and implement plans for involving parents in the postsecondary planning process beginning in middle school, including systematic methods for informing parents about the process and supporting their involvement at key stages of the process.