The group surveyed 5,500 teachers and 257 principals at California public elementary schools with large numbers of low-income students. They compared the methods used at each school with the average score on the 200-to-1,000-point API scale, which is based on state test results. The four practices most closely associated with high student performance were putting greater emphasis on student achievement, tightening the curriculum to fit the state academic standards, using student assessments to identify and remove weaknesses in instruction, and assembling certified and experienced teachers and principals with the best educational equipment.
Like the California study’s authors, researchers say that regular parental contact correlates with achievement, even if it is unclear how much. “I’ve published four research reviews on this topic since 1981 . . . and I’m convinced that parent involvement is a key factor in the achievement gap and in improving low achievement,” said Anne T. Henderson, a senior consultant with the Institute for Education and Social Policy at New York University.