Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics
2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 207.20. Percentage of kindergartners through fifth-graders whose parents reported doing education-related activities with their children in the past month, by selected child, parent, and school characteristics: 2003, 2012, and 2016
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected child, parent, or school characteristic Visited a library Went to a play, concert, or other live show Visited an art gallery, museum, or historical site Visited a zoo or aquarium Attended an event sponsored by a community, religious, or ethnic group1
2003 2012 2016 2003 2012 2016 2003 2012 2016 2003 2012 2016 2003 2012 2016
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Total 50.2 (0.80) 46.5 (0.88) 41.6 (1.05) 35.5 (0.87) 32.0 (0.88) 33.7   (0.94) 22.2 (0.83) 25.9   (0.77) 29.5   (0.92) 16.5   (0.69) 24.6   (0.86) 32.5   (1.09) 62.0 (0.80) 57.3 (0.79) 55.8 (1.01)
                                                                         
Sex of child                                                                        
Male 47.3 (1.08) 44.8 (1.40) 39.8 (1.62) 33.6 (1.09) 30.0 (1.25) 29.9   (1.40) 23.1 (1.12) 25.6   (1.11) 28.7   (1.38) 16.3   (0.88) 24.1   (1.07) 32.6   (1.48) 61.0 (1.08) 57.2 (1.24) 55.0 (1.50)
Female 53.1 (1.11) 48.3 (1.37) 43.6 (1.44) 37.5 (1.09) 34.1 (1.16) 37.8   (1.41) 21.2 (1.07) 26.2   (1.09) 30.4   (1.47) 16.7   (0.87) 25.2   (1.18) 32.4   (1.71) 63.0 (1.09) 57.5 (1.15) 56.6 (1.34)
                                                                         
Race/ethnicity of child                                                                        
White 49.1 (1.03) 45.3 (1.14) 40.3 (1.39) 37.2 (1.26) 33.6 (1.10) 34.7   (1.19) 21.2 (1.09) 27.4   (1.00) 29.6   (1.13) 13.6   (0.85) 20.8   (0.99) 28.0   (1.41) 64.6 (1.12) 56.8 (1.13) 56.6 (1.24)
Black 52.3 (2.50) 50.2 (2.97) 43.1 (3.21) 36.7 (2.23) 35.9 (2.65) 31.9   (3.38) 24.4 (1.97) 25.1   (2.05) 29.9   (3.43) 18.9   (1.55) 27.5   (2.69) 39.8   (3.64) 66.3 (2.35) 68.7 (2.10) 63.7 (3.06)
Hispanic 48.2 (1.77) 43.5 (2.11) 37.6 (2.06) 28.0 (1.53) 26.8 (1.80) 32.3   (2.11) 20.8 (1.38) 23.3   (1.66) 28.1   (2.08) 23.7   (1.32) 29.3   (2.04) 37.8   (2.44) 49.3 (1.75) 53.5 (2.28) 50.8 (2.39)
Asian/Pacific Islander2 70.9 (5.11) 59.8 (3.72) 56.9 (5.86) 36.0 (4.44) 33.7 (3.10) 33.5   (3.58) 34.3 (4.22) 24.8   (3.34) 29.4   (3.78) 22.3   (3.97) 33.1   (3.65) 32.9   (3.59) 65.4 (4.25) 52.2 (4.21) 52.0 (5.69)
Asian (†) 59.4 (3.79) 57.2 (6.06) (†) 34.5 (3.30) 32.9   (3.62) (†) 24.6   (3.39) 29.7   (3.92)   (†) 33.9   (3.65) 33.0   (3.72) (†) 50.6 (4.44) 51.4 (5.88)
Pacific Islander (†) (†) (†) (†) (†)   (†) (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) (†) (†) (†)
American Indian/Alaska
       Native
50.8 (9.32) 36.6 (10.71) (†) 48.4 (11.91) (†)   (†) 25.8 (6.94)   (†)   (†) 13.5 ! (6.17) 28.8 ! (12.17)   (†) 64.6 (9.44) 62.6 (11.60) (†)
Two or more races 52.2 (4.83) 48.4 (3.83) 48.2 (5.24) 35.8 (5.53) 30.2 (3.49) 35.5   (4.42) 25.9 (4.61) 29.0   (3.35) 32.7   (4.53) 15.0   (3.78) 21.8   (3.00) 30.3   (4.21) 58.0 (6.09) 53.6 (3.85) 55.5 (4.51)
                                                                         
Grade of child                                                                        
Kindergarten and grade 1 48.7 (1.28) 46.0 (1.44) 41.2 (2.01) 34.2 (1.32) 31.9 (1.69) 32.9   (1.80) 21.1 (1.04) 28.5   (1.44) 27.7   (1.53) 18.2   (1.10) 28.7   (1.78) 38.9   (2.11) 59.3 (1.29) 55.9 (1.41) 53.2 (1.98)
Grades 2 and 3 50.5 (1.45) 48.6 (1.59) 41.2 (1.52) 33.2 (1.41) 32.8 (1.52) 33.4   (1.75) 22.2 (1.13) 27.1   (1.59) 29.7   (1.86) 17.5   (1.13) 26.1   (1.49) 31.0   (1.74) 61.5 (1.41) 59.0 (1.57) 58.7 (1.71)
Grades 4 and 5 51.2 (1.32) 45.0 (1.59) 42.6 (1.57) 38.9 (1.18) 31.3 (1.30) 34.8   (1.52) 23.1 (1.28) 21.8   (1.28) 31.4   (1.50) 14.0   (0.90) 18.5   (1.04) 26.7   (1.73) 65.0 (1.28) 57.3 (1.48) 55.9 (1.80)
                                                                         
Language spoken most
      at home by child3
                                                                       
English 50.2 (0.86) 46.6 (1.00) 42.4 (1.09) 37.0 (0.93) 32.7 (0.91) 34.3   (0.97) 22.6 (0.90) 26.8   (0.76) 30.0   (0.91) 15.5   (0.71) 23.3   (0.87) 31.2   (0.97) 63.9 (0.85) 57.8 (0.78) 56.4 (1.01)
Spanish 41.8 (3.21) 33.8 (4.10) 23.7 (3.52) 16.4 (1.95) 20.0 (3.13) 31.8   (5.19) 14.9 (2.25) 12.8   (2.11) 27.7   (5.07) 26.0   (2.87) 30.4   (3.61) 48.1   (6.15) 34.7 (2.76) 54.9 (3.69) 53.9 (5.81)
English and Spanish                                                                        
equally 51.1 (4.40) 48.7 (4.14) 45.0 (4.73) 24.2 (3.77) 24.2 (3.38) 31.4   (4.65) 19.6 (3.35) 23.3   (4.60) 28.1   (4.93) 28.3   (4.06) 34.5   (4.78) 38.2   (4.58) 53.5 (4.92) 53.0 (5.31) 53.9 (4.64)
English and other                                                                        
language equally (†) 61.5 (5.01) 47.9 (10.18) (†) 42.8 (4.44) 29.7   (6.76) (†) 31.2   (5.01) 22.5   (5.70)   (†) 38.7   (4.85) 27.0   (7.21) (†) 64.2 (3.82) 53.0 (10.71)
Other language 69.8 (6.74) 47.0 (10.39) 41.1 (7.07) 30.5 (7.05) 32.0 (9.29) 27.7 ! (9.41) 26.3 (5.28) 17.6 ! (7.68) 31.9 ! (10.74) 27.8   (6.45) 21.9 ! (9.08) 32.7 ! (10.23) 55.8 (8.96) 42.5 (11.31) 43.9 (6.89)
                                                                         
Highest education level                                                                        
of parents/guardians                                                                        
in the household4                                                                        
Less than high school 36.1 (3.39) 37.4 (3.31) 28.8 (4.16) 20.0 (3.10) 18.5 (2.69) 23.3   (4.07) 9.3 (1.75) 18.1   (3.19) 17.0   (2.75) 15.3   (2.05) 27.7   (3.58) 36.3   (5.24) 34.3 (3.06) 48.0 (2.88) 38.8 (4.70)
High school/GED 44.5 (1.64) 45.0 (2.43) 36.8 (3.24) 28.6 (1.83) 26.3 (2.17) 26.5   (2.94) 17.8 (1.73) 21.2   (2.12) 24.3   (2.74) 16.5   (1.18) 23.3   (1.90) 35.1   (3.29) 50.5 (1.81) 53.8 (2.41) 50.3 (2.91)
Vocational/technical                                                                        
or some college 44.3 (2.04) 41.0 (1.74) 37.0 (2.39) 32.8 (1.89) 30.7 (1.76) 28.2   (2.16) 19.1 (1.32) 23.7   (1.55) 21.6   (1.77) 15.2   (1.29) 23.8   (1.70) 30.5   (2.50) 62.1 (1.64) 54.0 (1.64) 54.7 (2.53)
Associate's degree 47.4 (3.04) 43.7 (3.08) 37.8 (3.19) 41.1 (3.24) 28.0 (2.74) 29.8   (2.77) 22.0 (2.40) 24.9   (2.39) 30.4   (2.96) 15.4   (2.09) 25.8   (2.72) 30.8   (3.18) 67.0 (2.85) 58.2 (2.38) 55.7 (2.87)
Bachelor's degree/some                                                                        
graduate school 57.7 (1.74) 51.2 (1.53) 45.3 (1.68) 40.1 (1.61) 38.3 (1.45) 39.1   (1.97) 27.6 (1.70) 30.2   (1.47) 36.6   (1.89) 16.0   (1.32) 24.3   (1.50) 32.8   (1.79) 71.3 (1.63) 61.5 (1.37) 60.7 (1.60)
Graduate/professional                                                                        
degree 65.2 (2.04) 57.8 (1.56) 55.6 (1.91) 47.2 (2.53) 45.0 (1.68) 46.8   (1.79) 31.7 (2.02) 35.6   (1.72) 38.9   (1.57) 20.7   (1.82) 24.7   (1.23) 29.8   (1.80) 75.6 (1.55) 67.0 (1.56) 65.6 (1.48)
                                                                         
Family income                                                                        
(in current dollars)                                                                        
$20,000 or less 44.2 (2.14) 43.6 (2.48) 37.8 (3.32) 29.0 (2.07) 22.1 (1.72) 22.3   (2.55) 19.4 (2.02) 19.4   (1.87) 24.2   (2.75) 20.1   (1.73) 25.7   (2.05) 35.6   (3.75) 51.3 (2.32) 51.5 (2.11) 39.6 (3.36)
$20,001 to $50,000 48.9 (1.45) 44.1 (2.11) 39.3 (2.46) 31.0 (1.51) 27.7 (1.58) 26.6   (2.15) 18.9 (1.25) 21.1   (1.47) 24.7   (1.92) 15.2   (1.01) 25.4   (1.84) 33.5   (2.52) 61.5 (1.65) 56.7 (2.01) 54.4 (2.23)
$50,001 to $75,000 50.0 (1.65) 47.1 (2.14) 39.7 (2.86) 39.0 (1.59) 33.7 (2.39) 32.9   (2.39) 23.1 (1.42) 29.7   (1.88) 27.5   (2.68) 14.9   (1.27) 27.4   (1.96) 33.8   (2.52) 64.5 (1.42) 56.3 (2.05) 58.7 (2.64)
$75,001 to $100,000 49.9 (2.36) 46.8 (2.16) 44.3 (2.42) 39.4 (2.27) 34.4 (2.01) 37.1   (2.52) 23.0 (2.22) 28.2   (2.07) 28.8   (1.78) 15.3   (1.52) 26.2   (2.03) 28.3   (2.60) 66.2 (2.25) 60.1 (2.18) 60.9 (2.54)
Over $100,000 60.9 (2.14) 50.1 (1.76) 45.2 (1.50) 45.3 (2.10) 40.0 (1.39) 43.6   (1.46) 30.9 (1.66) 31.2   (1.63) 37.2   (1.49) 18.3   (1.88) 20.5   (1.21) 31.5   (1.63) 69.4 (1.84) 60.7 (1.59) 60.2 (1.69)
                                                                         
Poverty status5                                                                        
Poor 43.3 (2.30) 45.0 (2.53) 38.0 (2.59) 26.3 (1.98) 22.5 (1.63) 23.2   (2.64) 18.9 (1.97) 18.3   (1.55) 23.7   (2.28) 19.5   (1.67) 24.3   (2.09) 36.3   (3.21) 52.0 (2.14) 54.0 (2.18) 44.4 (3.02)
Near-poor 48.9 (1.63) 41.8 (1.86) 40.0 (2.56) 31.6 (2.10) 28.5 (2.10) 25.8   (1.93) 17.7 (1.50) 21.9   (1.77) 23.6   (2.16) 16.1   (1.28) 26.2   (1.99) 33.8   (2.73) 61.6 (2.24) 57.1 (2.10) 55.0 (2.39)
Nonpoor 52.8 (1.02) 48.8 (1.14) 43.4 (1.13) 39.8 (1.17) 36.9 (1.00) 40.0   (1.18) 24.9 (1.06) 30.4   (1.04) 33.6   (1.11) 15.8   (0.87) 24.1   (0.91) 30.8   (1.13) 65.2 (0.99) 58.7 (0.96) 59.7 (1.14)
                                                                         
Control of school                                                                        
Public.. 49.2 (0.87) 46.2 (0.94) 41.4 (1.12) 34.9 (0.88) 30.9 (0.96) 32.7   (0.99) 21.2 (0.92) 25.0   (0.82) 28.9   (1.06) 16.3   (0.71) 24.1   (0.94) 32.9   (1.23) 60.6 (0.85) 55.9 (0.87) 54.6 (1.14)
Private.. 57.0 (2.31) 49.0 (2.51) 44.5 (2.65) 40.0 (2.55) 41.8 (2.56) 42.3   (2.88) 29.0 (2.04) 34.4   (2.49) 35.4   (2.41) 17.9   (1.85) 28.8   (2.43) 28.3   (2.17) 72.2 (2.15) 70.0 (2.30) 66.9 (2.90)
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met (too few cases for a reliable estimate).
1 In 2012 and 2016, a single item asked parents if they had attended an event sponsored by a community, ethnic, or religious group. In 2003, attendance at an event sponsored by a religious group was asked about separately from attendance at an event sponsored by a community or ethnic group.
2 The 2003 questionnaire included a single item for "Asian or Pacific Islander," whereas questionnaires for later years included one item for Asian and a separate item for Pacific Islander.
3 Excludes children who were not able to speak.
4 In 2003, education level was not collected for the second parent in a same sex couple.
5 Poor children are those whose family incomes were below the Census Bureau's poverty threshold in the year prior to data collection; near-poor children are those whose family incomes ranged from the poverty threshold to 199 percent of the poverty threshold; and nonpoor children are those whose family incomes were at or above 200 percent of the poverty threshold. The poverty threshold is a dollar amount that varies depending on a family's size and composition and is updated annually to account for inflation. In 2015, for example, the poverty threshold for a family of four with two children was $24,257. Survey respondents are asked to select the range within which their income falls, rather than giving the exact amount of their income; therefore, the measure of poverty status is an approximation.
NOTE: Prior to 2012, National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) surveys were administered via telephone with an interviewer. NHES:2012 used self-administered paper-and-pencil questionnaires that were mailed to respondents. For NHES:2016, initial contact with all respondents was by mail, and the majority of respondents received paper-and-pencil questionnaires. However, as an experiment with web use, a small sample of NHES:2016 respondents received mailed invitations to complete the survey online. The respondent was the parent most knowledgeable about the child's education. Responding parents reported on their own activities and the activities of their spouse/other adults in the household. All information, including control of school, is based on parent reports. Excludes homeschooled children. The total number of children enrolled in kindergarten through fifth grade was about 24 million in 2003 and 25 million in 2012 and 2016. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey of the National Household Education Surveys Program (PFI-NHES:2003, 2012, and 2016). (This table was prepared October 2017.)

2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest