whose parents reported involvement in their child's school,
by activity type and school level: 1999
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In 1999, ninety-two percent of students had parents who were involved in at least one of four types of activities in their children's school: attending general meetings, attending scheduled meetings with a teacher, attending a school event, or acting as a volunteer or serving on a committee. The majority of students had parents who attended meetings or events in all three school levels, but only a minority of students in all levels had parents who volunteered or served on a committee. Parents were most likely to attend meetings and events or to volunteer in their child's school when their children were in kindergarten through 5th grade (96 percent), and participation rates were somewhat lower among parents of children in middle school (92 percent) and in high school (83 percent).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Parent and Family Involvement in Education/Civic Involvement Survey (PFI/CI:1996) and Parent Survey (Parent:1999) of the National Household Education Surveys Program, 1996 & 1999 and the Child Trends Databank. (2003). (www.childtrendsdatabank.org/indicators/39parentalinvolvementinschools.cfm)
| Attended general meeting | Attended scheduled meeting with teacher | Attended school event | Acted as a volunteer or served on a committee | Indicated involvement in any of the four activities | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1999 | 1996 | 1999 | 1996 | 1999 | 1996 | 1999 | 1996 | 1999 | |
| Total | 76.9 | 78.3 | 71.8 | 72.8 | 66.7 | 65.4 | 38.7 | 36.8 | 91.7 | 91.5 |
| Student's Grade | ||||||||||
| K-5 | 83.2 | 84.6 | 86.1 | 87.5 | 71.7 | 70.4 | 48.9 | 47.6 | 96.2 | 96.3 |
| 6-8 | 77.9 | 79.6 | 69.5 | 70.4 | 65.7 | 65.7 | 30.4 | 29.1 | 91.5 | 92.1 |
| 9-12 | 65.4 | 67.3 | 49.7 | 51.3 | 59.1 | 57.3 | 28.4 | 25.6 | 84.2 | 83.4 |
| Race and Hispanic Origin(b) | ||||||||||
| White, non-Hispanic | 79.0 | 80.5 | 72.6 | 73.6 | 71.6 | 71.6 | 44.1 | 42.7 | 93.5 | 93.8 |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 71.6 | 74.6 | 68.8 | 71.1 | 56.4 | 53.8 | 26.9 | 26.2 | 86.4 | 87.0 |
| Other | 73.2 | 76.6 | 71.6 | 73.1 | 64.2 | 62.3 | 35.4 | 30.6 | 89.9 | 90.3 |
| Parents' Highest Level of Education | ||||||||||
| Less than high school | 57.5 | 57.3 | 62.7 | 59.9 | 42.2 | 37.7 | 16.9 | 13.0 | 79.1 | 75.9 |
| High school graduate or equivalent | 71.5 | 72.7 | 69.2 | 69.7 | 60.2 | 58.7 | 30.1 | 26.0 | 89.3 | 88.4 |
| Some college(c) | 77.9 | 79.1 | 72.5 | 73.7 | 69.2 | 66.9 | 39.2 | 37.4 | 92.9 | 93.1 |
| College graduate | 87.4 | 87.3 | 77.4 | 80.3 | 76.4 | 75.6 | 52.3 | 49.8 | 96.8 | 97.1 |
| Graduate or professional school | 88.5 | 88.9 | 76.3 | 76.0 | 81.9 | 78.9 | 56.7 | 54.3 | 97.2 | 96.8 |
| a. Parental involvement in school
is defined as parent participation during the school year in any of the above
activities at least once. b. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. c. Some college includes a vocational or technical school after high school, as well as college attendance. Note: Ungraded students or children who are homeschooled are not included in this analysis; these students accounted for 1.6 percent of the students in grades K-12. Percentages may not sum to 100 because parents can be included in more than one type of involvement. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Parent and Family Involvement in Education/Civic Involvement Survey (PFI/CI:1996) and Parent Survey (Parent:1999) of the National Household Education Surveys Program, 1996 & 1999 and the Child Trends Databank. (2003). (www.childtrendsdatabank.org/indicators/39parentalinvolvementinschools.cfm) |
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Overall, 37 percent of adults volunteered with family members in 2001. Approximately 39 percent of whites volunteered with family members, while 34 percent of blacks and 29 percent of Hispanics did so. Volunteering is defined here as actually working in some way to help others, and not just belonging to a service organization. Volunteerism can be performed in an organized group, or individually for children, neighbors, friends, or even strangers.
Note: Estimates for whites and blacks includes Hispanics.
Source: Estimates supplied by C. Toppe, Independent Sector, based
on data from the 2001 Giving and Volunteering in the United States Survey.
| Percent | |
|---|---|
| Total | 37.2 |
| Race and Hispanic Origin(a) | |
| White | 38.6 |
| Black | 34.1 |
| Hispanic | 29.4 |
| a. Persons of Hispanic origin
may be of any race. Estimates for blacks and whites include Hispanics. Source: Estimates supplied by C. Toppe, Independent Sector, based on data from the 2001 Giving and Volunteering in the United States Survey. |
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In 1999, fifty-two percent of students in grades 6-12 participated in community service. Those who spoke English in the home were more likely (54 percent) than those who spoke another language in the home (34 percent) to participate in community service. Participation increased slightly between 1996 and 1999 in general, and was substantially higher among students with college-educated parents in both years.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Youth Civic Involvement Survey of the National Household Education Surveys (NHES) Program, 1996, and the Youth Survey of the NHES Program, 1999. As reported in National Center for Education Statistics. (1999). Youth service-learning and community service among 6(th)-12(th) grade students in the United States: 1996 and 1999. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
| 1996 | 1999 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 49 | 52 |
| Student's Grade | ||
| 6-8 | 47 | 48 |
| 9-10 | 45 | 50 |
| 11-12 | 56 | 61 |
| Language Spoken Most at Home by Student | ||
| English | 50 | 54 |
| Other | 32 | 34 |
| Parents' Highest Level of Education | ||
| Less than high school | 34 | 37 |
| High school graduate or equivalent | 42 | 45 |
| Some college(a) | 48 | 50 |
| College graduate | 58 | 62 |
| Graduate or professional school | 64 | 65 |
| a. Some college includes those
who attended a vocational or technical training school after high school,
as well as college attendance. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Youth Civic Involvement Survey of the National Household Education Surveys (NHES) Program, 1996 and the Youth Survey of the NHES Program, 1999. As reported in National Center for Education Statistics. (1999). Youth service-learning and community service among 6th-12th grade students in the United States: 1996 and 1999. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. |
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Among eligible voters, 60 percent of parents with their own children in the household voted in the last presidential election in 2000.
Voting is much more common among parents with higher levels of education than it is among parents with less education. Eighty percent of parents with at least a college degree reported voting in the 2000 election, compared with 64 percent of those with some college education, 49 percent of those with high school diplomas, and 28 percent of parents with less than a high school degree.
Voting behavior among parents also varies by age, with older parents more likely than younger parents to report voting in the last election. In 2000, seventy percent of parents ages 50 and over reported voting in the November election, compared with 65 percent of those ages 31-49, forty-six percent of those ages 26-30, and 33 percent of parents ages 18-25.
Married parents are more likely to vote than unmarried parents (64 percent and 45 percent, respectively).
a. Parents include householders and spouses with own children
under 18 in the household; therefore, this indicator includes data on all
parents in the family.
Note: Analysis includes only eligible voters (those who were at least
18 years of age and citizens).
Source: Child Trends' analyses of November 2000 Current Population
Survey data
| Percent | |
|---|---|
| All Parents | 60.3 |
| Highest Level of Education | |
| Less than high school | 28.3 |
| High school diploma or GED | 49.5 |
| Some education after high school | 63.9 |
| College graduate | 80.4 |
| Age of Parent | |
| 18-25 years | 33.2 |
| 26-30 years | 45.9 |
| 31-49 years | 64.8 |
| 50 years and over | 69.9 |
| Immigrant Status | |
| Native-born | 61.3 |
| Foreign-born | 46.2 |
| Martial Status | |
| Married (spouse present) | 64.0 |
| Unmarried (or married with spouse absent) | 44.9 |
| a. Parents include householders
and spouses with own children under 18 living in the household. Note: Analysis includes only eligible voters (those who were at least 18 years of age and citizens). Source: Child Trends' analyses of November 2000 Current Population Survey data. |
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Overall, 56 percent of youth felt connected to peers in their school in the 1995-96 school year. Approximately 60 percent of students attending middle or mixed(a) schools reported feeling connected to peers in their school, and 54 percent of high school students reported feelings of connection. This difference in reported rates of connection to peers by school level is not statistically significant.
Percentage of youth who feel connected to peers in their
school,
by level of school: 1995-1996
a. A mixed school contains both middle and high school grade
levels.
Source: Child Trends' analyses of the National Longitudinal Study
of Adolescent Health Wave 1, 1995-1996.
| Percent | |
|---|---|
| Total | 56.3 |
| Gender | |
| Male | 57.7 |
| Female | 54.8 |
| Immigrant Status(c) | |
| Native-born | 56.5 |
| Foreign-born | 53.6 |
| School Level(d) | |
| Middle school | 59.4 |
| Mixed | 60.4 |
| High school | 53.8 |
| a. Youth in grades 7-12. b. Perceptions of connectedness to peers are based on a three-item scale that includes measures of whether students feel close to people at school, feel part of their school, and feel happy at their school. c. Native-born includes U.S. citizens born in foreign countries. d. A middle school ends at or before the 9th grade. A high school begins at or after the 9th grade. A mixed school contains both middle and high school grade levels. Source: Child Trends' analyses of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health Wave 1, 1995-1996. |
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In the 1995-96 school year, 47 percent of youth in grades 7-12 perceived their school to be supportive. Foreign-born youth were more likely than native-born youth to feel that their school environment was supportive. Fifty-nine percent of foreign-born teens viewed their school as supportive, compared with 47 percent of native-born teens. Racial and ethnic differences in students' perceptions of their school environments reflect this same pattern. Specifically, Hispanic teens, who are more likely to be foreign-born, reported slightly higher levels of school supportiveness (52 percent) than non-Hispanic whites (48 percent), non-Hispanic blacks (45 percent), Native Americans (38 percent), or teens of other races (39 percent).
Percentage of youth who perceive their school to be
supportive,
by immigrant status: 1995-1996
Source: Child Trends' analyses of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health Wave 1, 1995-1996.
| Percent | |
|---|---|
| Total | 47.5 |
| Race and Hispanic Origin(c) | |
| White, non-Hispanic | 48.0 |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 44.6 |
| Hispanic | 51.8 |
| Asian | 49.2 |
| Native American | 37.8 |
| Other, non-Hispanic | 39.4 |
| Immigrant Status(d) | |
| Native-born | 46.9 |
| Foreign-born | 59.0 |
| Type of School(e) | |
| Middle school | 51.5 |
| Mixed | 51.8 |
| High school | 43.8 |
| a. Youth in grades 7-12. b. Perceptions of school supportiveness are based on a three-item scale including whether students have trouble getting along with teachers (reverse coded), feel like teachers treat students fairly, and feel that teachers care about them. c. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race d. Native-born includes U.S. citizens born in foreign countries e. A middle school ends at or before the 9th grade. A high school begins at or after the 9th grade. A mixed school contains both middle and high school grade levels. Source: Child Trends' analyses of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health Wave 1, 1995-1996 |
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