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


Table 207.30. Percentage of kindergartners through fifth-graders whose parents reported doing education-related activities with their children in the past week, by selected child, parent, and school characteristics: 2003, 2012, and 2016
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected child, parent, or school characteristic Told child a story Did arts and crafts Discussed family history/
ethnic heritage
Played board games or did puzzles
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
Total 74.9 (0.66) 68.8 (0.91) 72.0 (0.94) 74.9 (0.70) 67.0 (0.84) 68.8 (1.11) 53.1 (0.89) 49.4 (1.00) 50.8 (0.99) 72.9 (0.68) 64.0 (0.94) 67.4 (1.13)
                                                 
Sex of child                                                
Male 73.3 (0.86) 68.2 (1.27) 71.3 (1.59) 69.7 (0.98) 60.7 (1.19) 61.8 (1.62) 51.1 (1.16) 47.6 (1.10) 47.9 (1.49) 71.8 (0.92) 63.0 (1.20) 66.5 (1.73)
Female 76.6 (0.96) 69.5 (1.22) 72.8 (1.27) 80.2 (1.01) 73.8 (1.25) 76.3 (1.29) 55.1 (1.28) 51.2 (1.47) 53.9 (1.35) 74.1 (1.05) 65.2 (1.14) 68.2 (1.37)
                                                 
Race/ethnicity of child                                                
White 76.0 (0.96) 71.9 (0.98) 72.8 (1.21) 75.4 (0.89) 67.5 (1.08) 68.3 (1.17) 44.7 (1.13) 37.3 (1.21) 36.7 (1.18) 73.8 (0.87) 66.6 (1.03) 68.2 (1.19)
Black 69.6 (2.00) 64.3 (2.40) 73.8 (2.41) 68.1 (2.14) 64.0 (2.76) 66.1 (3.01) 66.6 (2.45) 67.4 (2.44) 69.9 (3.10) 72.9 (1.92) 60.1 (2.94) 64.7 (3.83)
Hispanic 74.2 (1.55) 65.4 (2.15) 69.9 (1.99) 79.6 (1.45) 67.7 (1.69) 71.9 (2.22) 64.5 (1.71) 58.1 (2.09) 64.5 (2.14) 68.5 (1.82) 62.2 (1.88) 69.2 (1.99)
Asian/Pacific Islander1 75.8 (3.73) 69.2 (3.38) 66.8 (6.31) 70.9 (4.34) 63.4 (3.45) 63.0 (7.10) 68.2 (4.83) 69.8 (3.56) 56.2 (5.10) 77.0 (3.82) 61.5 (3.87) 60.4 (6.54)
Asian (†) 68.0 (3.52) 66.6 (6.54) (†) 62.7 (3.52) 62.8 (7.33) (†) 68.8 (3.78) 55.3 (5.19) (†) 60.6 (3.94) 61.1 (6.87)
Pacific Islander (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†) (†)
American Indian/Alaska Native 84.1 (7.22) 70.3 (11.26) (†) 77.9 (8.06) 76.5 (9.66) (†) 82.4 (6.82) 56.0 (12.17) (†) 72.6 (10.24) 49.7 (11.34) (†)
Two or more races 83.5 (5.40) 66.4 (3.35) 77.5 (3.58) 75.7 (3.86) 69.7 (2.91) 73.6 (3.47) 63.3 (5.82) 51.7 (3.79) 58.5 (4.64) 77.8 (4.54) 64.2 (3.93) 67.0 (4.08)
                                                 
Grade of child                                                
Kindergarten through grade 1 84.5 (0.93) 78.0 (1.60) 79.1 (1.72) 89.3 (0.84) 81.2 (1.14) 79.2 (2.22) 47.7 (1.38) 44.4 (1.89) 43.9 (2.00) 77.5 (1.17) 69.3 (1.56) 71.9 (2.28)
Grades 2 through 3 74.5 (1.21) 66.9 (1.51) 72.6 (1.68) 74.0 (1.12) 66.7 (1.54) 69.3 (1.57) 54.7 (1.34) 52.1 (1.53) 52.5 (1.88) 72.7 (1.09) 65.5 (1.44) 68.1 (1.99)
Grades 4 through 5 66.4 (1.20) 60.2 (1.55) 63.4 (1.55) 62.2 (1.36) 51.2 (1.45) 56.6 (1.56) 56.5 (1.42) 52.3 (1.44) 56.9 (1.59) 68.9 (1.18) 56.6 (1.50) 61.4 (1.62)
                                                 
Language spoken most at home by
      child2
                                               
English 75.4 (0.73) 69.4 (1.00) 73.2 (0.92) 74.4 (0.72) 67.2 (0.81) 68.5 (1.11) 51.5 (0.93) 46.8 (1.13) 47.2 (1.06) 73.7 (0.73) 64.0 (1.06) 67.0 (1.08)
Spanish 65.6 (2.85) 56.4 (5.08) 62.3 (5.94) 81.7 (2.16) 70.7 (3.63) 66.5 (5.88) 60.2 (3.11) 64.7 (4.04) 70.9 (5.69) 58.1 (3.10) 60.2 (4.36) 69.7 (5.49)
English and Spanish equally 76.6 (3.83) 68.7 (4.01) 69.0 (4.54) 78.7 (3.88) 64.5 (4.01) 78.3 (3.78) 77.3 (4.18) 64.0 (3.84) 75.9 (4.22) 75.2 (3.73) 67.0 (3.51) 72.8 (4.14)
English and other language equally (†) 74.6 (3.94) 66.0 (8.87) (†) 66.9 (4.78) 66.9 (9.27) (†) 72.2 (4.54) 63.3 (8.85) (†) 68.2 (3.67) 63.8 (8.86)
Other language 81.7 (6.95) 66.1 (9.93) 77.6 (7.42) 76.7 (4.81) 55.2 (10.98) 70.1 (7.17) 75.1 (6.13) 63.1 (11.51) 47.6 (8.04) 74.8 (7.43) 65.5 (11.12) 66.9 (10.08)
                                                 
Highest education level of parents/                                                
guardians in the household3                                                
Less than high school 67.2 (3.16) 65.0 (3.19) 59.6 (5.53) 74.8 (3.20) 67.2 (3.32) 66.1 (4.93) 60.4 (2.98) 60.7 (3.45) 59.6 (5.02) 66.8 (3.16) 61.7 (3.09) 59.3 (5.46)
High school/GED 71.3 (1.59) 65.7 (2.45) 72.4 (2.45) 75.5 (1.32) 70.3 (2.50) 71.4 (2.76) 54.9 (1.91) 50.8 (2.04) 56.1 (3.27) 73.2 (1.39) 64.8 (2.32) 68.8 (2.40)
Vocational/technical or some
       college
75.9 (1.54) 69.1 (1.56) 70.3 (2.32) 76.2 (1.51) 64.4 (1.87) 68.9 (2.33) 50.8 (1.75) 47.0 (1.90) 49.0 (2.44) 71.6 (1.58) 63.9 (1.72) 70.8 (2.05)
Associate's degree 76.0 (2.00) 67.0 (3.80) 71.6 (2.57) 73.6 (2.47) 66.0 (2.45) 72.2 (2.69) 50.9 (3.16) 44.6 (3.22) 51.5 (3.36) 70.1 (2.50) 57.9 (3.69) 67.1 (2.70)
Bachelor's degree/some graduate
       school
77.3 (1.60) 71.3 (1.37) 76.0 (1.47) 74.0 (1.48) 66.8 (1.47) 68.4 (1.72) 47.3 (1.74) 45.6 (1.49) 46.3 (1.98) 75.8 (1.27) 65.1 (1.67) 67.8 (1.76)
Graduate/professional degree 78.6 (1.64) 72.7 (1.41) 75.0 (1.64) 73.9 (1.72) 67.3 (1.41) 66.4 (1.66) 60.1 (2.16) 51.9 (1.74) 47.8 (1.76) 74.9 (1.82) 67.8 (1.39) 67.0 (1.87)
                                                 
Family income (in current dollars)                                                
$20,000 or less 73.9 (1.61) 68.7 (1.81) 65.6 (3.67) 76.0 (1.87) 71.4 (2.08) 67.1 (3.82) 61.6 (2.05) 54.3 (2.17) 57.9 (3.38) 73.3 (1.70) 61.7 (2.22) 64.7 (3.81)
$20,001 to $50,000 74.0 (1.31) 68.6 (1.87) 70.6 (1.94) 75.3 (1.05) 68.1 (1.86) 70.3 (2.41) 53.5 (1.59) 53.6 (2.07) 55.4 (2.38) 72.3 (1.45) 63.6 (1.80) 67.4 (2.16)
$50,001 to $75,000 74.9 (1.53) 68.5 (2.31) 71.9 (2.17) 75.3 (1.55) 67.5 (1.86) 68.8 (2.31) 49.6 (1.99) 47.7 (2.35) 54.7 (3.01) 72.1 (1.51) 63.3 (2.35) 68.1 (2.64)
$75,001 to $100,000 74.7 (2.02) 68.4 (2.03) 75.1 (2.30) 71.2 (1.98) 64.7 (2.13) 68.4 (2.78) 48.8 (2.28) 46.3 (2.46) 46.4 (2.39) 73.3 (2.30) 65.6 (2.29) 65.8 (2.46)
Over $100,000 78.6 (1.52) 69.4 (1.35) 74.7 (1.48) 75.1 (1.87) 64.1 (1.62) 68.6 (1.53) 50.1 (1.93) 44.5 (1.48) 43.8 (1.58) 74.7 (1.81) 65.5 (1.50) 68.7 (1.39)
                                                 
Poverty status4                                                
Poor 73.2 (1.67) 68.6 (2.15) 67.3 (2.87) 76.9 (1.85) 72.0 (2.01) 68.2 (2.85) 60.9 (2.13) 57.6 (2.64) 55.8 (2.72) 72.4 (1.88) 61.7 (2.29) 66.8 (3.08)
Near-poor 74.3 (1.30) 68.3 (1.88) 70.6 (2.37) 76.7 (1.24) 67.5 (1.63) 70.6 (2.44) 53.3 (1.79) 49.8 (2.18) 57.4 (2.73) 73.6 (1.85) 63.3 (1.71) 66.6 (2.68)
Nonpoor 75.7 (0.85) 69.0 (1.07) 74.1 (1.02) 73.6 (0.92) 64.9 (0.98) 68.4 (1.11) 50.6 (1.11) 46.1 (1.09) 46.8 (1.19) 72.8 (0.87) 65.2 (1.16) 67.8 (1.09)
                                                 
Control of school                                                
Public.. 75.0 (0.68) 68.2 (1.04) 71.3 (1.00) 75.2 (0.72) 67.0 (0.89) 68.2 (1.25) 52.4 (0.98) 49.6 (1.07) 50.7 (1.06) 73.4 (0.74) 63.7 (1.04) 67.4 (1.24)
Private.. 74.2 (2.09) 73.7 (2.08) 78.7 (2.48) 72.1 (1.94) 67.0 (2.45) 75.3 (2.31) 58.1 (2.17) 47.0 (2.75) 51.3 (3.22) 69.1 (1.99) 67.2 (2.25) 66.8 (2.71)
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.
1 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.
2 Excludes children who were not able to speak.
3 In 2003, education level was not collected for the second parent in a same sex couple.
4 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