New Research Shows Nearly 9 in 10 NYC Parents Believe Their Child is on Grade Level, Yet Only Half Are

#GoBeyondGrades campaign in New York City urges parents to sign their kids up for summer learning

/EIN News/ -- NEW YORK, April 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Summer can be a critical time for learning catch-up, but many parents aren’t aware their children are behind. While the New York State Testing Program shows that just 52% of students in grades 3-8 in New York City are on grade level in reading and 50% in math. Learning Heroes released research today finding that nearly nine in 10 (89%) of New York City K-12 parents believe their child is reading and doing math at or above grade level.

Parent perceptions stem, understandably, from report cards, and the new Learning Heroes research finds that 80% of New York City parents report their child receives mostly B’s or better. However, report cards are only one source of information on academic progress and measure much more than just achievement, including attendance, participation, and effort. Learning Heroes is a national nonprofit focused on building school-home partnerships.

The new research also reveals a gap in understanding among parents of children with learning differences. Nearly eight in 10 (79%) believe their child is on grade level or above in reading and 78% in math, while 65% report that their child receives mostly B’s or better. Nearly 80% of parents are extremely or very confident that they have a clear understanding of how well their child is achieving academically.

To help families support their child’s learning over the summertime, Learning Heroes, InsideSchools, Understood, and Univision are backing #GoBeyondGrades, a parent awareness campaign in English and Spanish encouraging them to:

1. Ask if your child is on grade level in reading and math,
2. Be in the know about your child’s learning, and
3. Connect to summer programs and more in New York City.

“We’re teaming up with #GoBeyondGrades to help New York City families find good summer programs that support reading, math, and life skills,” said Natasha Quiroga, Director of Education Policy and InsideSchools at the New School’s Center for New York City Affairs. “This summer is an important time to catch up.”

Billboards in Manhattan and Queens as well as online ads juxtapose parent perceptions of their child’s grade level achievement with statewide assessment results and encourage parents to look beyond report card grades to know how their child is achieving and visit www.GoBeyondGrades.org/NYC, an online resource for New York City parents to help parents and educators team up in support of student learning and wellbeing. One in five students in the U.S. has a learning difference, and the site includes specific resources to help families identify learning differences, get a diagnosis, and more. 

“What this campaign is encouraging more than anything is ongoing communication with the child’s teacher. By partnering with the teacher, asking ‘is my child at grade level,’ getting information on district, community based, and online summer learning programs, and making a plan for summer learning, families can use this summer as an opportunity to keep learning,” said David Park, Senior Vice President, Learning Heroes.

The online survey was conducted among parents of public school students in New York City (n=508) from April 3-18, 2024 by Edge Research.

This project was possible thanks to the support of Oak Foundation.

Hana Hodali
                    Learning Heroes
                    4402238341
                    hana.hodali@gmmb.com