Leaders of kindergarten through 12th grade (K12) institutions often wonder who should get credit for a student’s success or failure in school. Should it be students, teachers, or parents? Research shows all three are critical.
Regarding parents, a meta-analysis of 37 studies examining K12 education showed parental involvement is positively associated with academic achievement, with especially strong links for academic expectations and constructive communication.
In terms of teachers, a study using administrative and tax records of more than 1 million children showed that students assigned to high value-added teachers are more likely to attend college, earn higher salaries, and have fewer teen births than their peers—effects that persist into adulthood. Specifically, replacing a teacher ranked in the lowest 5% with an average teacher increases students’ lifetime income by more than a $250,000 per classroom.
Students also contribute to their own positive outcomes. Specifically, a meta-analysis of 58 studies showed that students using different learning strategies achieve varied degrees of success.
From a strategy planning perspective, it is important for K12 leaders to understand the views of the most critical stakeholder in schools: parents who entrust their children to their districts.
Specifically, we want to know to what extent parents attribute their child’s success to teachers, students, or themselves.
Doing so can enable K12 leaders to develop a customer-focused strategy and excel on the customer needs providing the most value to parents, align strategy execution to those needs, and improve customer loyalty and academic outcomes. Without a clear understanding of parents’ value drivers, school district strategies inevitably miss the mark, leading to declining enrollment and academic achievement.
Since 2022, the Stratonomics-K12TM Strategy Science Study has measured parents’ beliefs and attitudes about, as well as satisfaction with, their child’s education. The ongoing study measures parent satisfaction with different dimensions of K-12 education, along with their agreement with various statements about the school experience.
The report focuses on the use and impact of the internet and technology in schools. The results are based on responses from 17,700 parents of children in grades K through 12.
Stratonomics-K12 measures parents’ beliefs and attitudes about their child’s education.
As shown in Figure 1, most parents (83%) indicate high
overall satisfaction with [their] child’s school. Furthermore:
As shown in Figure 2, 82% of parents are satisfied with
the teachers in their children’s schools. Furthermore:
As shown in Figure 3, more than half of parents (62%)
agree that 80% of students’ academic success is based on
the effort of the students’ teachers. Furthermore:
As shown in Figure 4, two thirds of parents (66%) agree
that 80% of students’ academic success is based on the
effort of the students’ parents. Furthermore:
As shown in Figure 5, agreement is consistent (80%) that 80% of students’ academic success is based on the effort
of the students. Furthermore:
Key takeaways include:
Insights from this report can inform school districts on the extent to which parents give credit for students’ academic success to teachers, parents, or students themselves, an important consideration when planning strategy.
Mittal, Vikas (2026), “Students, Teachers or Parents: Who Should Get Credit for Student Success?” Stratonomics-K12™ Strategy Science Study, 1-11.