High Expectations for Students' Educational Degree Attainment: The Pivotal Role of Parents for Their Eighth-Grade Students' Reading Achievement

• In Event: Poster Session 6
  In Poster Session: Social and Cultural Influences on Learning and Motivation

Abstract

Parents provide support, resources, and expectations for their children’s academic achievement. Using Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K) data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), for 9725 eighth grade students from across the United States, parent education level, parental degree expectations, knowledge of GPA, parents’ communication about school and risky behaviors, were entered in a HLM to predict eighth grade students’ reading scores, controlling for students’ prior fifth grade reading scores, gender, and socio-economic status. HLM results revealed that parental expectations, knowledge of students’ GPA, and parents’ own education levels were the strongest predictors for increased reading outcomes. Findings suggest specific parental factors have significant influence on student achievement starting as early as eighth grade.

Authors

• Sara Prewett, University of Missouri - Columbia

• Stephen D. Whitney, University of Missouri