We use data from multiple national surveys to describe trends in private elementary school enrollment by family income from 1968-2013. We note several important trends. First, the private school enrollment rate of middle-income families declined substantially over the last five decades, while that of high-income families remained quite stable.…

Parent involvement in family-school partnerships is widely acknowledged as supporting children's schooling outcomes. This involvement, however, reduces as children move through the school grades, and can be lower in families from disadvantaged backgrounds. Teacher facilitation of parent involvement, or teacher outreach, is strongly linked to the…

Numerous studies show large differences between economically advantaged and disadvantaged parents in the quality and quantity of their engagement in young children's development. This "parenting gap" may account for a substantial portion of the gap in children's early cognitive skills. However, researchers know little about whether the…

Students whose school environment fits their developmental needs also typically experience academic success and increased motivation. Most investigations of school fit, which focus on teachers' and students' perceptions, have found a general decline in fit across the transition from elementary to middle school. However, little research has…

This report presents data on students in the United States attending kindergarten through grade 12. The main focus of the report is on parent and family involvement in the students' education during the 2011-12 school year as reported by the students' parents. It also includes the percentage of students who participated in selected family…

We use data from over 25,000 U.S. parents interviewed in the 1996 and 2007 National Household Education Surveys to address two under-researched questions. The organizing framework for these questions is the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. First, did school-based parental involvement change during 1996-2007? Second, do the predictors of this…

This report presents data on students in the United States attending kindergarten through grade 12. The main focus of the report is on parent and family involvement in the students' education during the 2011-12 school year as reported by the students' parents. It also includes the percentage of students who participated in selected family…

Early childhood education and care has become the norm for children in the United States and most European countries. In the United States, immigrant children, a growing demographic, are under-enrolled, particularly in formal settings. This research revealed that younger children of immigrant mothers were less likely to be in non-parental care,…

Using data from the Census Bureau's 1991 Current Population Survey and the National Household Education Survey, this study examined the trends in nursery school enrollment of 3- and 4-year-old children from 1975 to 1990. Factors examined included number of enrollments in nursery schools, race and ethnicity of the students, students' family income,…

Parent involvement in children's education is important for children's school success; however, not all children have parents who are involved in their schools. This issue brief examines factors that are associated with fathers' and mothers' involvement in their children's schools among children in kindergarten through 12th grade living in…

This paper presents national survey results on the role of parents in the emerging literacy of preschool children, and outlines the Strengths Model for Learning in young children. According to data from the 1993 National Household Education Survey (NHES), the percentage of children displaying signs of emerging literacy and small motor skills…

This report contains the first release of information from the 1995 National Household Education Survey (NHES) on the care and educational experiences of young children who have not yet entered kindergarten. Describing infants', toddlers', and preschoolers' participation in a variety of early care and education settings, the document includes both…

This report examines the prevalence of selected accomplishments and difficulties in a national sample of 4,423 children from 3 to 5 years of age who had not yet started kindergarten. The data were collected as part of the 1993 National Household Education Survey (NHES). The report focused on 2,000 children who had turned 4 by the end of 1992 and…

Using a subsample of data relating to 4,668 first- and second-graders and their families from the 1991 National Household Education Survey, a study examined different ways of measuring whether a child is behind in grade and compared these measures with data about children who are below modal grade levels. Several profiles emerged. Children delayed…