Parent-teacher communication includes school-wide notices, student-specific messages, phone calls, conferences, and digital grade access. The latest NCES parent-reported figures cover the 2022-23 school year, while a December 2023 School Pulse Panel survey describes practices reported by public-school leaders. Older NCES satisfaction figures measure how well schools communicated in 2019, so they should not be read as current estimates.
Table of contents
- School-initiated communication reported by parents
- Differences by school type and family characteristics
- Parent-teacher conference participation
- Conference participation by locale, grade, and family structure
- How well schools communicated in 2019
- Communication practices reported by public-school leaders
School-initiated communication reported by parents
NCES’s First Look: Parent and Family Involvement in Education: 2023 asked parents about communication initiated by their child’s school during the 2022-23 school year. These are parent-reported percentages of enrolled kindergarten-through-grade-12 students, not counts of messages or measures of message quality.
School-wide communication was the most common reported channel. Parents said their schools used newsletters, memos, e-mails, or notices for 90% of enrolled K-12 students. Student-specific notes or e-mails reached 66% of students, while telephone calls about the student reached 41%.
| School-initiated method | Share of enrolled K-12 students, 2022-23 |
|---|---|
| Newsletters, memos, e-mails, or notices for the whole school | 90% |
| Notes or e-mails about the student | 66% |
| Telephone calls about the student | 41% |
The distinction matters for classroom management. A school-wide notice can distribute general expectations or dates, whereas a student-specific note, e-mail, or call gives a family information about an individual learner. The figures show how frequently parents reported each form, but they do not establish whether one method was more effective than another.
The 2022-23 estimates come from NCES’s national parent and family involvement reporting. NCES, First Look: Parent and Family Involvement in Education: 2023 reports the underlying percentages.
Differences by school type and family characteristics
School-wide communication was reported for 89% of public-school students and 93% of private-school students in 2022-23. Parents of private-school students also reported student-specific notes or e-mails for 69% of students. The supplied NCES figures do not provide a corresponding overall percentage for public-school students for that method in this comparison.
Reported school-wide communication varied by locale. Parents reported newsletters, memos, e-mails, or notices for 90% of students in city households and 88% of students in rural households. These two estimates describe the selected city and rural groups; they do not explain why the percentages differ.
Telephone contact also varied slightly by the reported student sex category: parents reported telephone calls about the student for 45% of male students and 40% of female students. The wording reflects the categories used in the source and should not be interpreted as a causal relationship.
Student-specific notes or e-mails were reported for 65% of students in kindergarten through grade 2 and 63% of students in grades 9-12. By home-language grouping, the corresponding estimates were 67% when both or only parents spoke English at home, 61% when one of two parents spoke English at home, and 63% when no parent spoke English at home.
These comparisons are useful for identifying where communication patterns differ, but the estimates are published percentages and are not recalculated here. They also do not measure whether families preferred a channel, received translation support, or acted on a message.
Parent-teacher conference participation
A regularly scheduled parent-teacher conference is a more direct opportunity for two-way discussion than a school-wide announcement. In 2022-23, a parent or household member attended a regularly scheduled parent-teacher conference for 72% of enrolled K-12 students nationally.
Participation differed by school type. The rate was 71% for public-school students and 85% for private-school students. Among public schools, the rate was 74% for students in public schools chosen by their families and 70% for students in assigned public schools. Among private schools, participation was 84% for students in private nonreligious schools and 87% for students in private religious schools.
| School setting or enrollment category | Students with a household member attending, 2022-23 |
|---|---|
| All enrolled K-12 students | 72% |
| Public-school students | 71% |
| Private-school students | 85% |
| Public schools chosen by families | 74% |
| Assigned public schools | 70% |
| Private nonreligious schools | 84% |
| Private religious schools | 87% |
The conference figures describe attendance, not the length, format, or outcome of the meeting. They also refer to a parent or household member, so “participation” should not be treated as a count of individual parents or as proof that every teacher-family conversation occurred during the scheduled conference.
The source for these 2022-23 estimates is NCES, First Look: Parent and Family Involvement in Education: 2023. NCES presents the percentages as estimates for the specified student populations.
Conference participation by locale, grade, and family structure
Locale differences were pronounced in the supplied 2022-23 estimates. A parent or household member attended a regularly scheduled conference for 82% of students in city households, 83% in suburban households, 73% in town households, and 52% in rural households.
| Household locale | Conference attendance, 2022-23 |
|---|---|
| City | 82% |
| Suburban | 83% |
| Town | 73% |
| Rural | 52% |
Conference participation was 72% for students in kindergarten through grade 2, 74% for students in grades 3-5, 71% for students in grades 6-8, and 74% for students in grades 9-12. The grade-group estimates are relatively close even though participation varied across locales.
Family structure also showed a difference. Attendance was reported for 73% of students in two-parent or two-guardian families and 68% of students in one-parent or one-guardian families. These percentages describe the share of students with a parent or household member attending; they do not identify barriers such as work schedules, transportation, caregiving, or meeting availability.
Because the figures are cross-sectional estimates for 2022-23, they should be used to describe that measurement period. They do not establish a trend or show that locale, grade, or family structure caused a particular attendance rate.
How well schools communicated in 2019
NCES’s 2019 Parent and Family Involvement survey used a different measure: whether parents reported that their student’s school communicated “very well” about specific topics. These figures predate the 2022-23 participation estimates and measure perceived communication quality rather than whether a contact method was used.
For enrolled K-12 students, parents reported that schools communicated very well about how the student was doing between report cards for 59% of students. The corresponding figures were 45% for how to help the student with homework, 42% for why the student was placed in particular groups or classes, and 46% for the expected parent or guardian role at school.
For students in grades 9-12, 40% of parents reported that the school communicated very well about planning for college or vocational school. This item applies only to grades 9-12 and should not be compared with the all-grade estimates as though the populations were identical.
Regional estimates for communication about how the student was doing between report cards were 60% in the Northeast, 59% in the South, 60% in the Midwest, and 57% in the West.
| Communication topic or region | Parents reporting “very well,” 2019 |
|---|---|
| Student’s progress between report cards | 59% |
| Helping with homework | 45% |
| Placement in groups or classes | 42% |
| Expected parent or guardian role | 46% |
| College or vocational planning, grades 9-12 | 40% |
| Progress between report cards, Northeast | 60% |
| Progress between report cards, South | 59% |
| Progress between report cards, Midwest | 60% |
| Progress between report cards, West | 57% |
The source’s “very well” measure is a parent-reported perception from 2019. It is not a current satisfaction estimate and has not been independently rechecked here. See NCES, “Parent satisfaction with school communication,” 2019.
Communication practices reported by public-school leaders
The December 2023 School Pulse Panel provides a different perspective: percentages of public schools whose leaders reported using particular ways to engage with or inform parents. These are school-level reports, not percentages of students or families.
In December 2023, 97% of public schools reported using e-mail, 97% reported using phone, and 97% reported using in-person meetings. Web- or phone-based applications were reported by 91% of public schools. The figures indicate widespread organizational use of these channels, but they do not show how often each was used or how many families received a contact.
Teacher communications about a child’s progress or difficulty were reported by 95% of public schools. Parent-teacher conferences beyond report cards or summative assessments were also reported by 95%, while online systems for parents to access grades on assignments or tests were reported by 87%.
Less universal methods included parent-teacher associations or organizations, reported by 71% of public schools, and at-home visits, reported by 46%.
| Practice reported by public-school leaders | Public schools, December 2023 |
|---|---|
| 97% | |
| Phone | 97% |
| In-person meetings | 97% |
| Teacher communication about progress or difficulty | 95% |
| Parent-teacher conferences beyond report cards or summative assessments | 95% |
| Web- or phone-based applications | 91% |
| Online access to assignment or test grades | 87% |
| Parent-teacher associations or organizations | 71% |
| At-home visits | 46% |
These December 2023 School Pulse Panel figures complement, but do not replace, the parent-reported estimates. One set describes what schools said they used; the other describes what parents reported for enrolled students. IES, “Nearly One-Third of Public Schools Have One or More Portable Buildings in Use” is the supplied source for the school-leader-reported contact practices.