Essentially, this is a positivistic approach to addressing the issue of low achievement in the context of parental involvement; it is easier to diagnose in cases where the favorable factors are absent. In other words, one of the most informative uses of finding the styles of parenting that aid in student achievement would be to determine instances in which low levels of parental involvement can be recognized as the leading component in low academic achievement. In order to isolate these factors, however, studies need to be conducted that control for social status -- of both the student and their parents -- sex, race, and the structure of the household -- whether there is one or two parents. Additionally, only a workable definition of what academic achievement is should be used as an appropriate gauge of the term. So although the meta-analysis was, perhaps, the most informative and expansive research yet conducted on the matter, its weakness is its reliance upon outside research and multiple forms of measurement. Probably the most meaningful estimate of academic achievement is through a student's grade point average; although this is definitively a relative measure -- across different schools anyway -- it remains the preeminent measuring stick by which most students, parents and teachers measure academic worth. Put differently, students, parents and teachers alter their behavior based upon the grade point average more than anything else -- students wanting a 4.0 will adjust their study habits according to the difficulty of...

Therefore, holding the G.P.A. As the widespread measure of academic achievement makes sense and is easy to implement.
With the G.P.A. As the guidepost, studies should be conducted isolating precisely what parental habits most strongly correspond with high grades. Fan's study must be used as the launching pad for more detailed investigation into the divide between hands-on parental involvement and parental expectations. Although the signs are somewhat compelling that parenting style may be more influential than mere parental encouragement, they are not convincing enough to make a definite conclusion. Fundamentally, more firmly established trends need to be characterized in order to make widespread social classifications.

Works Cited

Bogenschneider, Karen. "Parental Involvement in Adolescent Schooling: A Proximal Process with Transcontextual Validity." Journal of Marriage and Family, volume 59, number 3, August 1997. Pages 718-733.

Fan, Xitao and Michael Chen. "Parental Involvement and Students' Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis." Educational Psychology Review, volume 13, number 1, March 2001. Pages 1-22.

Pong, Suet-ling. "Family Structure, School Context, and Eighth-Grade Math and Reading Achievement." Journal of Marriage and Family, volume 59, number 3, August 1997. Pages 734-746.

Taylor, Loraine C. et al. "Parental influences on academic performance in African-American students." Journal of Child and Family Studies, volume 4, number…