Apple’s PowerSchool on Monday announced the results of a nationwide survey that showed that parents believe that their children’s achievement would be improved if communication methods were improved between parents and teachers.
PowerSchool develops Student Information System (SIS) software used in leading K-12 educational institutions. The software enables teachers to track attendance, input grading information and more — it can also be used by parents to track how their kids are doing, what’s for school lunch and more.
The March 2006 survey, commissioned by PowerSchool and administered by research firm Zoomerang, surveyed more than 1,550 parents online. The parents had at least one child in grades K-12. It was conducted to determine the frequency and manner of communication that parents currently have with their child’s school, and gauged attitudes on how communication could be improved.
Ninety-four percent of those parents surveyed said they’d like to use the Internet to access their child’s academic information and to communicate with teachers. Ninety-three percent felt that having such communication would improve their kids’ academic progress.
By comparison, only a scant 34 percent of those surveyed actually have such online access.
The survey also showed that parent/teacher conferences are the primary way that parents get info on how their kids are doing — 85 percent of those surveyed said they wanted more frequency than those meetings allow. Almost half of parents surveyed claimed surprise at some point by a grade on their student’s report card. Fifty-two percent of parents want to keep up with their children’s grades.
If you’re interested in the complete report, you’re encouraged to send an e-mail.