A new study by Steven Sheldon and Sol Bee Jung from Johns Hopkins School of Education examines Parent Teacher Home Visits (PTHV), a strategy for engaging educators and families as a team to support student achievement. The PTHV model has three main components: (1) an initial visit in the summer or fall in which educators focus on getting to know the student and the family, (2) ongoing two-way conversation during the school year, and (3) a second visit in the winter or spring with a focus on how to support the child academically.

Four large urban districts from across the United States participated in the study. From each district, the researchers requested student-level data about demographic characteristics (e.g., gender, race) and student outcomes (e.g., attendance and standardized test performance). Additionally, districts were asked to provide data about the implementation of PTHV in their schools.

Key findings of the study were as follows:

• On average, schools that systematically implemented PTHV experienced decreased rates of student chronic absenteeism and increased rates of student English Language Arts (ELA) and math proficiency, as measured on state assessments.
• Students whose families participated in a home visit were less likely to be chronically absent than students whose families did not participate.
• For students, attending a school that was implementing home visits with at least 10% of students’ families was associated with an increased likelihood of scoring at or above proficiency on standardized ELA assessments.

The authors suggested that the findings indicated the efficacy of school outreach to families as a strategy to improve both attendance and achievement, and the effects might apply to students who did not directly participate in the home visits.

Source (Open Access): Sheldon, S. B. & Jung, S. B. (2018). Student Outcomes and Parent Teacher Home Visits. Retrieved from http://www.pthvp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/18-11-30-Student-Outcomes-and-PTHV-Report-FINAL.pdf