Involvement Counts: Family and Community Partnerships and Mathematics Achievement

TLDR

National and international studies have made student performance in mathematics a high priority in schools. The authors examined the connections between specific family and community involvement activities and student achievement in mathematics at the school level. They used longitudinal data from elementary and secondary schools. After controlling for prior achievement, effective implementation of practices encouraging families to support mathematics learning at home was associated with higher percentages of students scoring at or above proficiency on standardized tests, suggesting that subject‑specific school, family, and community partnership practices may help improve students’ mathematics skills and achievement. Keywords: community involvement, mathematics, parent involvement, partnerships, student achievement.

Abstract

Abstract National and international studies have made student performance in mathematics a high priority in schools. Using longitudinal data from elementary and secondary schools, the authors examined the connections between specific family and community involvement activities and student achievement in mathematics at the school level. After the authors controlled for prior levels of mathematics achievement, analyses indicated that effective implementation of practices that encouraged families to support their children's mathematics learning at home was associated with higher percentages of students who scored at or above proficiency on standardized mathematics achievement tests. Findings suggest that subject-specific practices of school, family, and community partnerships may help educators improve students' mathematics skills and achievement. Keywords: community involvementmathematicsparent involvementpartnershipsstudent achievement