Fourth K-12 Parent Survey Finds
Concern Over Learning Loss
For the past year, the MassINC Polling Group, has conducted a four-part series of parent surveys, sponsored by the Barr Foundation and produced in collaboration with the Education Trust. These surveys examined the impact of COVID-19 on students and families and the quality of the state’s education system during the pandemic.

A fourth wave, conducted between April 23 and May 14 2021, (with prior waves in May/ June 2020, October 2020 and February/ March 2021), involved a statewide survey of 1.619 parents of school-age children in Massachusetts, including oversamples of Black, Latinx and Asian parents.

This survey comes as more schools return to in-person instruction and more parents are concerned about learning loss. With historic levels of federal funding available, parents across racial and ethnic groups are in support of a wide range of funding priorities for schools.
Key Findings
Learning Loss

The percentage of parents who think their child is now behind grade level has nearly doubled since the onset of the pandemic, going from 16 percent before COVID to 29 percent as of May 2021. While the reasons behind these parent perceptions are speculative, over half (55%) of parents say their children will need to catch up academically. There were clear racial differences among Asian (62%) and Black parents (59%) who were somewhat more likely to say their child needs to catch up.
Parents of students who are still learning under hybrid models were the most likely to say their child needs to catch up, which is consistent with findings from the third wave. Almost two-thirds of hybrid parents say their child will need to catch up academically when compared to half of remote only parents (52%) and half of in person only parents (51%).
Personalized Learning 

Although two thirds of parents say being back in the classroom full-time will be “very helpful” to catch their child up academically, approaches that emphasize personalization were viewed as more helpful. These approaches include: 1-on-1 or small group instruction, smaller class sizes, individualized education and emotional health support from school, take-home academic activities, summer school, frequent updates on a child’s academics and having online instruction as an option. However, parents differed somewhat on what would be most helpful in catching up, with Black and Latinx parents calling for a broader range of strategies. 
Nearly half of parents (48%) who say their child has “a lot” of catching up are planning for summer school. Parents of color, remote and hybrid parents, and those whose child has an IEP or is an English Language Learner are among those most likely to send their child to summer school.
Unequal Treatment

Black parents (8%) are more likely to say their child has been treated unfairly at school because of their race compared to white parents (4%). While 48% of Black parents say their child has never been treated unfairly because of their race, 80% of white parents say that their child has never been treated unfairly because of their race. Additionally, younger parents and younger parents of color in particular, are more likely to say their child has been treated unfairly at school.

Despite declines in school discipline actions this year, Black and Asian parents are still more likely to say their child has been disciplined.
Full results from the fourth wave of MassINC’s survey of K-12 parents and caregivers in Massachusetts are here. For more information on how the pandemic has impacted youth, go to CfJJ’s “Youth Justice in a Pandemic” website here.
COVID-19 Discipline and Child Welfare Referrals
Parent Survey
CfJJ and the Chapter 222 Coalition, an alliance of educational advocates and attorneys, are concerned that schools are excluding students, particularly students of color and students with disabilities from school during the pandemic. We are also concerned about schools filing 51A “child neglect” reports with the Department of Children and Families (DCF), or Child Requiring Assistance (CRA) truancy cases in juvenile court, if children are not able to access online school. 

If these things happen, we want to hear about them so that we can pursue systemic and policy change. We will use this information to create a public report as well as present the data to state legislators and advocacy groups. 

Please share this survey with your networks. You can find a sample outreach email here with links to English and Spanish versions of the survey. You can also find a social media post on Facebook about the survey here. We will be collecting survey responses until Friday, June 11, 2021.