Parents are doers and fixers, but they can’t be expected to solve a problem they don’t know they have. Almost 9 in 10 parents nationally think their children are on grade level, despite student achievement data that tells us only around a third of students are on grade level in reading and math. 

In fall 2023, Gallup partnered with Learning Heroes to better understand how parents perceive, evaluate and take action in support of their children’s academic progress. The study reports on a representative sample of nearly 2,000 parents of K-12 public school students nationwide, highlighting how parents view their child’s academic performance and suggesting that some parents are relying on a small subset of the measures needed to fully understand their child’s progress.

The resulting report, B-flation: How Good Grades Can Sideline Parents, reached 134 million families and engaged 11 million through 2,500 earned media placement and 1.9 million video views.

This research builds upon a decade of research on parent perceptions conducted by Learning Heroes, and Learning Heroes’ Go Beyond Grades public awareness campaign. 

This research would not have been possible without the vision and generosity of Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin and Griffin Catalyst. National partners, including the National Urban League, Univision, UnidosUS, National PTA, GreatSchools.org, US Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and UNCF were also integral to this effort.

Featured news coverage:

• AP: Many parents don’t know when kids are behind in school. Are report cards telling enough?
• CNN: To mark your child’s progress, look beyond their grades, report urges parents
• The Gallup Podcast: Students’ Report Cards Might Not Be Telling the Whole Story About Their Performance on Apple Podcasts
• Parents don’t realize kids are failing because report cards don’t tell them (foxnews.com)