A new study has found that texting a student’s parents just once a week can dramatically help to boost their exam results, a new study has found.
According to the results of the trial which asked 35 English teachers to text their pupils’ progress to parents just once a week, teenagers were more likely to experience additional progress in maths and reduced absenteeism.
The Parent Engagement Project was developed by the University of Bristol and Harvard University, and is found to be more effective than kids being exposed to classical music.
The trial involved 15,697 students in Years 7, 9 and 11 with schools sending an average of 30 texts to each parent; it is believed to be a cheap option to help boost school performance.
“The positive effects of the programme in relation to a reduction in absenteeism was surprising given that no texts related to attendance were sent, and is perhaps related to the increased monitoring by parents of children’s school-related activities overall, creating an environment in which pupils felt less able or willing to truant,” explained researchers.
Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation Sir Kevan Collins, said: "It would seem that the simple and cheap approach of regular texts could be a better bet for schools than expecting parents to turn up at school for classes of their own."
"Taken together, these three results give us hugely useful insights into how we can better engage parents with children's learning – which has the potential to have a significant impact on their results.'"
The results of the trial which have been published on the Education Endowment Foundation, said “schools embraced the programme and liked its immediacy and low cost.”
