An Open Letter to the Editor of the Los Angeles Times

National PTA President Anna Weselak sent the following letter in response to the October 26 article, "Parents' Involvement Not Key to Student Progress, Study Finds." The article misrepresents the findings of the recent EdSource study "Similar Students, Different Results." National PTA will continue to promote, support and demonstrate the key role parents play to ensure children succeed and learning environments improve.

Dear Editor:

Re “Parents’ Involvement Not Key to Student Progress, Study Finds,” Oct. 26

Jean Merl’s article misrepresents the intent and findings of the EdSource study “Similar Students, Different Results” when it states that “Some of the findings seem to fly in the face of widely held beliefs that parental involvement is among the most important reasons for school success….”

As even Merl acknowledges, the study’s authors cautioned that the findings did not suggest that involving parents was not important, but that in this case, other factors appeared to have greater impact on how well students performed on standardized tests. It is also important to note that the EdSource study did not describe the level or nature of parent involvement in the schools studied.

PTA believes the evidence presented by leading researchers such as Weiss, Epstein, Henderson, and Mapp is consistent and convincing: parent involvement is key to the educational success of all students, regardless of race or socioeconomic background.

Sincerely,

Anna Weselak

National PTA President