Regardless of incomes, education, and performance at the school, say the authors, parents believe that their involvement is central to their child's academic success. What parents need is an access point that many are not finding. Selected reported findings include: (1)) Parents see a more demanding world: (2) Parents share high aspirations for their children; (3) Parents, especially parents of students in low-performing schools, understand that their involvement is important; (4) Only 15 percent of parents of students at low-performing schools feel the school is doing an adequate job of challenging students; (5) School performance, more than grades, drives parent satisfaction; (6) While all parents recognize the importance of their engagement with their children's education, only parents from high-performing schools feel they are regularly and meaningfully engaged in their children's academic success; and (7) Most parents who are not engaged enough feel that they need to do better. Barriers to and opportunities for parental involvement are discussed. (Contains 19 endnotes, 8 figures and 1 table.) [This report was produced in association with Peter D. Hart Research Associates.]