April 23, 2008

Mismatches Found Between Student Achievement and Parents' College Expectations in Federal Survey

By Peter Schmidt

Washington

The Education Department released a report on Tuesday that offers new insights into the factors influencing whether parents expect their children to enroll at four-year colleges, and suggests that many young people who could succeed at such institutions are not being encouraged by their families or schools to apply.

Although other studies have similarly looked at families' expectations for children to attend college, the new study, based on a 2003 survey of the parents of about