Poll: Parents have high hopes that students will catch up after the disruptions of COVID
Mental/emotional health remains a concern for parents.
Survey also looked at federal funding priorities, vaccination plans.
Poll presentation & education advocate panel
Massachusetts parents have high expectations that this school year will help their kids catch up after a year of COVID challenges and interruptions. More than a third (35%) of parents now expect their students will be ahead of grade level by the end of this year. That’s actually higher than the 28% who said their children were at that level pre-COVID. But it’s not clear that schools have the resources to achieve this expected turnaround, or that parents are even getting the information they need to adequately track their students’ progress.
Those are the top findings from the fifth and latest wave of a survey of K-12 parents statewide conducted by The MassINC Polling Group and sponsored by the Barr Foundation, in collaboration with the Education Trust Massachusetts. The project has tracked parents’ attitudes and opinions about their children’s education throughout the pandemic since the end of the 2019-2020 school year.
“With their kids back in school, parents seem to want to get back to normal, which means a focus on getting back on track academically,” says Maeve Duggan, Research Director at The MassINC Polling Group, who oversees the project. “The question is whether the schools are ready to deliver on parents’ desires.”
Return to “normal”
Nearly three-quarters of parents say that the return to in-person schooling has had a positive impact on their children, including 54% who say it has had a “major” positive impact. In an open-ended follow-up question, half of the comments attributed that positivity to their children being able to socialize with teachers and students.
While a plurality of parents say both academics and mental health matter equally (46%), a third of parents say they are more concerned with their child’s mental and emotional health (33%). Additionally, 49% of parents are still at least somewhat concerned with their children’s mental and emotional health.
“Mental and emotional health remains a high priority among parents, even as students return to the classroom,” said Duggan. “And parents say they want to see mental and emotional health more fully integrated into the curriculum coming out of the pandemic.”
Catching up
As schools return to full-time in-person learning, parent expectations are high. A majority of parents who say their children are currently behind grade level expect them to be at (49%) or ahead of pace (13%) by the end of the year. But it’s not clear whether all schools are prepared to deliver that level of improvement -- or if parents are getting the information they need to assess their students’ academic progress.
A small majority (54%) say their kids’ schools are doing enough to help students catch up, but 32% say they should be doing more. Sizable minorities of parents either report their schools lack learning supports like smaller class sizes, one-on-one tutoring, and extra classes in certain subjects that would help kids catch up, or are unsure. Public school parents and parents whose kids are currently behind academically are less likely to report their schools have these resources.
And parents report they are tracking their children’s academic progress mainly through their grades and reports from teachers. Only up to about a third of parents are receiving, let alone using, broader diagnostic assessments or MCAS results, to know whether their children are getting back on track.
Parents in the dark on ARPA funding
School districts are eligible to receive federal COVID relief funding through the American Rescue Plan Act. But only a fifth of parents know how their child’s school district plans to spend ARPA funds (20%), if their district has received any money so far (19%), or have been asked how they would like the money to be spent (20%).
When it comes to spending priorities, 52% of parents rank tutoring and extra support at the top of their academic wishlist for ARPA funds. Among social/emotional programs, 36% would want to see mental health awareness integrated in the curriculum first, over hiring more counselors (29%) and making mental health screening available (26%). And when it comes to post-graduation preparation, about a third of parents (36%) prioritize expanding vocational and technical education programs.
Most parents report eligible children as vaccinated, plan to vaccinate when they can.
The majority of the survey was fielded before the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was approved for use in children ages 5-11. Even so, roughly three-quarters of parents with eligible children reported at least some of their kids were vaccinated, including 57% who said all of their children. Two-thirds (65%) of parents of then-ineligible children planned to get them vaccinated, while 22% said they would not, and 13% were unsure or refused to say. Expected vaccination rates varied considerably by parents’ race, educational attainment, and geographic region. Holdouts say they want more research (33%) or have concerns about the safety of the vaccine (20%).
Education advocates in the state react to the findings.
A number of education groups who work in partnership with the Education Trust Massachusetts offered their thoughts on the poll results:
"The MassINC family poll is a valuable resource - during such a critical time - for community advocates, policymakers, and our school communities, so that, collectively, we can ensure that we are meeting the needs of students and families - especially students who were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The poll results will provide community advocates insight into the experiences of our parents and families." - Natasha Ushomirsky, State Director for Massachusetts, The Education Trust
“The results from the poll are clear: our parents and families rely on our educators to have a better sense of how their child is doing academically and for insight on how to best support their child moving forward. The pandemic meant our teachers took on many new roles and responsibilities every single day. Therefore, any plan to support and transform our schools must include a robust professional development strategy component. I urge decision makers to take a closer look at the data. They must provide teachers with relevant professional development with actionable takeaways that can be immediately implemented in post-COVID classrooms.” - Lisa Lazare, State Director of Educators for Excellence Boston
"Districts have a unique opportunity - and are required by the U.S. Department of Education - to gather input from families, students, and educators on how we should be investing federal funds to support our school communities and meet the urgency of this moment. Poll results show that to date, most families have not been consulted. But it’s not too late and groups such as those that are part of the Massachusetts Education Equity Partnership are more than willing to engage in these critical conversations and bring more families to the table." - Dr. Geralde Gabeau, Executive Director, Immigrant Family Services Institute (IFSI)
"The influx of federal dollars offers a tremendous opportunity: one that we can’t let slip by. School and district leaders must actively seek out ideas from families and community members, and then take those ideas seriously in developing local plans. And social-emotional support and academic support can’t be seen in opposition to each other. For once, we have the capacity to provide both for the benefit of all students." - Kevin Murray, Executive Director at Massachusetts Advocates for Children
"This poll puts student and family voices at the center of our decision-making, and I encourage all schools and districts to engage in meaningful conversations with their school communities. We need everyone at the table to discuss innovative approaches that will help support all students' social-emotional and academic needs. We can't continue to do things the way we've always done them - we know we weren't meeting the needs of all students pre-pandemic - and now even more students require support." - Hilda Ramirez, Executive Director at the Latino Education Institute
About the Poll
These results are based on a survey of 1,479 parents of K-12 students in Massachusetts. Live telephone interviews and online interviewing were conducted in English and Spanish from October 18 – November 2, 2021. Telephone respondents were reached by both landline and cell phone. Oversamples of Black, Latino, and Asian respondents were obtained to bring the total interview count up to at least 250 for each group for the base sample. Results within race and ethnicity were weighted to age, gender, geography, and education level for each group. Groups were then combined and weighted to the population parameters by race for the state as a whole. The poll was sponsored by The Barr Foundation.
About The MassINC Polling Group: The MassINC Polling Group is a nonpartisan public opinion research firm serving public, private, and social-sector clients. MPG elevates the public's voice with cutting edge methods and rigorous analysis. Based in Boston, MPG serves a nationwide client base.
*Correction: This post originally included incorrect figures for mental and emotional health vs. academics. The figures have been updated to reflect the correction (Dec. 2021).