This booklet is written in non-technical language and focuses on educational testing issues currently of interest to parents. Some of the questions parents commonly ask about tests are identified and answered. Questions include: (1) What are tests and why are they used?; (2) How are they used?; (3) How many different kinds of tests are there?; (4)…

This article discusses ideal roles for both parents and teachers in parent-teacher conferences. Parents should use a team approach, prepare questions for the teacher, and listen to what the teacher has to say. Teachers should prepare students for the conference, create a welcoming environment for parents, and plan a general outline for the…

Patterns of underachievement are described. Suggestions for helping both dependent and dominant underachievers to gain confidence and perform up to their capacity are given. (MT)

A program is described that successfully involves parents in their child's education at a middle school in Louisiana. (MD)

A description of three intervention programs designed to improve the communication styles and nature of interactions between parents and their college sons or daughters. (Author)

Gives ways a parent can aid a child's involvement with words and language, and increase a child's pleasure in acting out stories. (GB)

Results of this study indicate that parents' attitudes about dissent have both general and specific characteristics. The methods used by students influence parental support for goals; as methods approach direct action, parental support for goals diminishes. The only variable associated with dissent attitudes was attitude about campus freedom of…

Educational discrepancy between parents may have some consequences for the mental health of the offspring. (CK)

Regardless of income, families can provide a rich learning environment. A Massachusetts elementary principal has discovered several home conditions that promote students' academic success. Having high expectations and preparing children to work hard top the list. Other factors are close family relationships, reading at home, parent/school…

Argues that teachers need to be aware of the effect adult illiteracy has in their classrooms. Discusses identifying low-literate parents, what to do next, and ways to support low-literate parents. (SR)

Applies a family process model to the linkage between early economic disadvantage and later enrollment in higher education. Using two waves of data on low-income youth, results found that the attitudes and behaviors of their parents, mostly mothers, mediate the impact of disadvantage on enrollment. (Contains 36 references and 3 tables.) (GCP)

When surveying parents on six types of involvement, the Family Center at Johns Hopkins University found that respondents were uninterested in regular school visits or participation in decision making but eager to help their children at home. In response, two researchers developed TIPS (Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork), an interactive…

Examines family roles in college undergraduates (N=748). Comparing role identification found no differences between children of alcoholics (ACOA) and non-ACOAs. Differences were found in participants from dysfunctional families. Results suggest a need for clinicians to re-think the use of role conceptualization in therapeutic work with ACOAs, with…

Presents information on a project emphasizing the importance of parental understanding and support in implementing change by creating a program for building parents' understanding of mathematics and assessment that would enable them to make informed decisions about their children's instructional progress. (ASK)