What Parents Are Saying About College and Career Readiness r It will come as no surprise that parents want the best opportunities for their children – which almost always includes access to, and preparation for, postsecondary education and training beyond high school. Parents believe it is very important that their children attend college, yet many are concerned about their children’s level of preparation for postsecondary education.
Nearly nine in ten parents say it’s “extremely” or “very important” that their child goes to college. 1
According to another survey, minority parents put an even higher value on college: 92% percent of African-American parents and 90% of Hispanic parents consider going to college “very important,” compared to 78% of white parents.
Yet, the majority of parents (64%) believe their child is only “somewhat” or “not too” prepared for college-level work. Only 29% believe their child is “very prepared.” Unsurprisingly, just 18% of parents believe their child’s high school has done an “excellent” job of preparing students for college. 2
Parents also see the preparation gap starting earlier in their children’s education – 45% of parents say their children were only “somewhat” or “poorly” prepared to enter high school, in terms of having the necessary knowledge and skills. 3
Parents see postsecondary education and training as a necessity in today’s world.
61% of parents believe that what their children have to learn today to graduate, attend college and compete in the workforce is much different than it was 20 years ago when they were students. 70% of parents with a high school degree believe this, compared to only about half of parents with a college or degree or more. 4
76% of parents (and 91% of Hispanic parents) believe a college degree is the best way to get a “good life and comfortable lifestyle.”5
Percent of Parents Who Say... 90% 80%
Very important for child to get education that would lead to college
86% 78%
74%
70%
66%
60% 50%
51%
40%
38%
30% 20% 10%
School does a very good job preparing child for college
25%
18% 13%
School does a very good job of preparing child for good job
0%
1
Deloitte (2009). Redefining Education as a Launch Pad. www.deloitte.com/assets/DcomUnitedStates/Local%20Assets/Documents/us_leadership_EducationSurvey120109.pdf 2 Ibid. 3 Civic Enterprises (2008). One Dream, Two Realities. http://www.civicenterprises.net/pdfs/onedream.pdf 4 Ibid. 5 Public Agenda (2008). A Matter of Trust. http://publicagenda.com/files/pdf/amatteroftrust.PDF
1 © 2011