Parents Unaware of Children's Academic Struggles

A significant gap exists between parental beliefs and actual student performance, with most parents thinking their children are at grade level while standardized tests suggest otherwise.

The Gallup and Learning Heroes poll found that despite 88% of parents believing their children are at grade level in reading and 89% in math, school officials report that half of U.S. students began the last school year behind in at least one subject. Grades have inflated during the pandemic due to leniency in grading policies, potentially hiding the true academic gaps. Lack of parent awareness may lead to underutilization of academic support programs funded by federal pandemic relief.