Analysis Finds Correlation Between Test Scores, Parent Conference Attendance

The Omaha World-Herald (1/3, Dejka) reports that its analysis of school data in Omaha, Nebraska, shows that parents "really do matter in a child's academic success," noting that the paper "looked at how many parents showed up for fall 2011 parent-teacher conferences at nearly 180 schools in the Omaha metro area and compared that with student test scores. Schools with the highest parent attendance generally scored best on state reading and math tests," the paper found. The piece notes that though there is no proven direct causal relationship between conference attendance and higher test scores, "attendance at conferences suggests an involved parent, one who cares enough to take time off from work or evening activities to visit school and wait, in long lines at some high schools, for a brief chat with a teacher."