In 2003, more than half of all children in grades 3–12 had parents who reported that they were “very satisfied” with their child’s school, their child’s teachers, the school’s academic standards, and the school’s order and discipline.

In 2003, more than half of all children in grades 3–12 had parents who reported that they were “very satisfied” with each of the following aspects of their child’s education: their child’s school (58 percent), their child’s teachers (59 percent), the school’s academic standards (58 percent), and the school’s order and discipline (60 percent) (see table 38-1). Comparisons with comparable data for 1993 show no measurable differences in the parents’ reported satisfaction with each of these four aspects of their child’s education.

In 2003, a greater percentage of White children in grades 3–12 than Black children had parents who reported being very satisfied with each of the four aspects of their child’s education. The percentage of White children with parents who reported being very satisfied with their child’s school increased from 57 percent in 1993 to 60 percent in 2003, whereas no measurable differences were found between these years in the percentages of Black and Hispanic children with parents who reported being very satisfied with their child’s school.

Differences in parental levels of satisfaction with each of these four aspects of their child’s education were also found by poverty, grade level, and school type. In 2003, the percentages of children with parents who reported being very satisfied with their child’s school, its academic standards, and its order and discipline were higher for those who were categorized as nonpoor than for those categorized as near-poor or poor. The percentages of children in grades 3–5 with parents who reported being very satisfied with each of the four aspects of their child’s education were greater than the percentages of children in grades 6–8 and grades 9–12. In addition, the percentages of children in private schools with parents who reported being very satisfied with each of these four aspects were greater than the percentages of children in public schools, while the percentages of children in chosen public schools were greater than the percentages in assigned public schools.