What Parents Want

In a recent survey and study published by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, which focuses on education issues and public policy, parents were split as to their priorities in K-12 education.

The authors, Dara Zeehandelar and Amber Winkler (both who hold Ph.D.’s), discovered that parents all want a core curriculum based on reading and math with emphases in science, technology, engineering and math education (also known as STEM), but in addition they said that parents wanted a variety of specializations.

Some of the highly-prioritized specializations and emphases for parents were:

• Life skills;
• High academic standards;
• Programs for gifted students;
• Character development;
• Using technology;
• High standards for behavior; and
• Hands-on learning

The specializations that parents put in the middle of their list of concerns, at least in the survey, were:

• Ability grouping;
• Extracurricular activities, other than sports;
• Vocational classes;
• Citizenship;
• Parental involvement;
• Diversity in the student body;
• High test scores; and
• Test preparation.

What were the lowest priorities among parents? They were “small enrollment,” “after-school programs” and “strong athletics,” with “school uniforms” rounding out the bottom. Thus do parents dismiss the silver bullets of putative education reformers.

Students also had a different take on education as far as their priorities and rankings go:

• Self-discipline and study habits;
• Communication skills;
• Critical thinking;
• College preparedness
• Social skills;
• Love of learning;
• Identify personal interests;
• Self-esteem; and
• Strong morals

What were the lower-ranking aspects of the student survey? That would be “values diversity” and “knows importance of college” along with “job skills,” “foreign language,” and “appreciation of nature.”

Spencer Irvine is a staff writer at Accuracy in Academia.
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