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Indicator: Parent/Guardian Involvement in Child's Learning

Data and Data Discussion provided by Communities Count

Figure 1: Percent of Households Where Children Were Read or Told Stories

Figure 2: Percent Read or Told Stories, by Region

Figure 3: Percent Read or Told Stories, by Education Level

Figure 4: Percent Read or Told Stories by Household Income and Relationship Status

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Upstream Indicators
  •   High School Graduation Rate --- 91.7 percent of King County residents aged 25 and older had a high school education or greater, while the on-time graduation rate for high school students in King County in 2005 was 76.5%. No statistically significant trends were observed in the preceding 5 years.   (view data graph)
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Downstream Indicators

There are currently no published Downstream Indicators.

Related Goals

Sustainability Snapshot:

Reading to young children promotes language development and, later on, reading comprehension and overall success in school. Reading stories and/or telling stories in any language assists young children to be prepared for school. Washington State ranks 12th in the percentage of families reading to their young children daily according to a 2007 survey. (1) A significantly higher percentage of King County families (84%) read to their young children daily than is the case for Washington State families as a whole (54%).

Sustainability Trend:

There is a slight increase in number of households where parents read or tell stories to their children between 2001- 2007.

Data Discussion

The Indicator Defined

Percent of households with children age 2-5 where children were read or told stories every Day by a family member.

Data Interpretation/Evaluation

According to the 2007 King County Survey, children between 2-5 years were read to or told stories to everyday in 84% of the households, compared to 76% in 2001. The upward trend is highest in Seattle, where it rose from 83% in 2001 to 99% in 2007. The rise in the number of parents/guardians involved in their children’s learning was not uniform throughout King County. In Northern King county reading and storytelling rates rose from 79% to 87% between 2001 and 2007, an 8% increase. In Eastern King county, rates rose from 77% to 89% between 2001 and 2007, a 12% increase. In Southern King County, rates rose from 68% to 74% between 2001 and 2007, a 6% increase.
According to the King County Survey 2007, children are more likely to be read to or told stories to in households in which the parent/guardian has graduated from college than in households in which parent/guardian has a high school degree or less.

Data Source and Limitations

In 2010 our research indicates there is no new data since 2007.
Local data were contributed by Communities Count (www.communitiescount.org) and are from the King County Community Health Survey, 1999, 200, 2004 and 2007. In the 2001, 2004 and 2007 local surveys were drawn using random sample of households with children age birth-5. The respondent was the person who knew most about the child’s care. In 1999, a random sample of all households was drawn and there was random selection of the respondent from all adults living in the household.
The survey does not gather data about income levels and rates at which children are read to or told stories.

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Additional Resources

  • (1) Reading Across the Nation: A Chartbook 2007
    An early childhood education resource, presenting "reading snapshots" for each state, with comparative rankings on literacy indicators. Research conducted by Reach Out and Read National Center, UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families, and Communities and Boston University School of Medicine.