Do Parent Trigger laws work?

Early indications are positive, according to an October 8 press release from Parent Revolution:

Ever since parents began using California’s historic Parent Empowerment Act, a key question has followed our work around California and the nation: Does parent power lead to student success?

We know that the challenging nature of school transformation efforts means that it will take years to more conclusively answer that question. Almost all student assessments were suspended in California schools last year due to field-testing for new Common Core-aligned assessments.

Even with that enormous challenge, however, it is encouraging to see that the first two Parent Trigger schools saw significant student gains in CST science scores, the one test that was administered last year. Here is some raw data:

24th Street / Crown Preparatory Academy

CST Science – Grade 5, Grade 8, and Grade 10 Life Science

	2013	2014
Students Tested	84	102
% of Enrolled	98.8%
Students with Scores	84	101
Mean Scale Score	312.6	373.0
% Advanced	2%	33%
% Proficient	19%	32%
% Basic	42%	23%
% Below Basic	18%	7%
% Far Below Basic	19%	6%

Desert Trails Preparatory Academy

CST Science – Grade 5, Grade 8, and Grade 10 Life Science

	2013	2014
Students Tested	82	68
% of Enrolled	83.7%
Students with Scores	82	68
Mean Scale Score	297.5	348.5
% Advanced	2%	12%
% Proficient	10%	35%
% Basic	30%	38%
% Below Basic	30%	9%
% Far Below Basic	27%	6%

10 year science score data for Desert Trails Elementary Schools

Year	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Adv.	3	2	0	2	4	0	0	3	5	2	12
Prof.	8	15	14	13	24	21	12	19	26	10	35
Basic.	45	38	37	35	44	30	34	33	30	30	38
BB	30	27	37	25	17	21	32	24	11	30	9
FBB	15	19	12	26	11	28	23	20	28	27	6
Adv./Prof	11%	17%	14%	15%	29%	21%	12%	22%	31%	12%	47%

This data, while very limited in nature, also aligns with the parent survey data gathered at the end of last year, in which 91 percent of parents at Desert Trails Preparatory Academy and 83 percent of the parents at 24th Street Elementary said their schools had improved from the year before.

Kathy Duncan, a parent of two Desert Trails Preparatory students, shared her satisfaction with the school’s transformation: "As a parent, I am happy to send my child to DTPA. Everyone was happy the first day. I saw new faces that had never seen before. I would like to shine a light on [Desert Trails school leader] Ms. Debbie Tarver and her staff. My children, Jeremiah and Evelyn have had an exceptional time at DTPA."

While this data doesn’t paint anything close to a complete picture, it’s promising. Chief Strategy Officer Gabe Rose explains, "We of course cannot draw conclusions based on one subject test during one year, but the emerging evidence at these schools gives us an abundance of hope that we are on the right track, and can’t wait to share all data we gather with parents as they organize to do what’s best for their kids. We know from research that at best, only 25-30 percent of school turnaround efforts generally succeed, but we are confident that the consistent presence of organized and engaged parents will make our efforts substantially more successful."

Yes, it matters to close the political power gap and to empower low-income parents of color. It’s not only the right thing to do, and it can, does, and will turn schools around so they work better for all kids -- because all kids matter.