The Most Important Factors in Determining a Child's Success in School

Much research has been done over several decades to answer the question: What are the factors that determine a child's success in school? According to Sandra L. Christenson, PhD, what families and communities do to support academic success far outweighs other factors such as income, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

All children have the potential to succeed, it is we, the parents and community, that fail them!

Parents Role
Parental and family attitudes about learning are one of the most significant factors that influence a child's ability to succeed in school. When children know that their parents expect them to attend school consistently, earn good grades and complete their homework, they frequently live up to those expectations. Children without those familial expectations do not tend to see the importance of education and are more likely to skip school, ignore homework and perform poorly. Families can create a culture of high academic expectations by ensuring that their child has adequate time and space to do his homework, and by regularly discussing the topics he is learning in school.

Parental Involvement In School - According to a best-practice brief on parent involvement in school by the University of Michigan, students whose parents are involved with school earn higher grades, complete homework more regularly and are less likely to be involved in alcohol or drug abuse and violent behaviors. Parents can become involved in schools through volunteering in the classroom, chaperoning field trips and joining the parent-teacher organization.  This also includes frequent and open parent-teacher communication, which is essential to children's school success. When parents know what their child is learning in school, they can discuss those topics and provide additional opportunities to explore them. Frequent communication between parents and teachers also allows parents to provide immediate extra support when their child struggles with a topic, rather than waiting until report cards are sent home. By the time parents see a report card, it is often too late to help a child grasp a topic because the class has already moved on to something else.

Community Role
Parents can not do it alone.  It takes a village: uncles, aunties, grandparents, churches, youth organizations, mentors, older siblings, role models.....
The "village" can help establish a culture in which the expectation of success is normal, and not the status quo of  "just getting by."  The village families help each other in supporting students’ aspirations and commitment to academic achievement.  Through frequent and systematic discussions about education a cumulative environment is created in which parents have the information they need to make wise choices concerning there child's education and future.  Students who experience educational support outside of the classroom excel faster and further, and they continue to overcome challenges on their own long after graduation.It has been estimated that 40-50 percent of what a child learns occurs in school and the remaining 50-60 percent comes from the family and community. "Without close articulation of and involvement with the family and larger community, the education system will ultimately fail"  Get Involved!

Comment with factors you feel are most important to your child's academic success...