This report presents 66 studies, reviews, reports, analyses, and books on the role of family in student achievement. Of these, 39 are new, and 27 have been carried over from previous editions. The research is divided into two categories: (1) studies on programs and interventions from early childhood through high school, including school policy; and (2) studies on family processes. The first category includes studies that evaluate or assess the effects of programs and interventions, such as early childhood and preschool programs, home visits for families with infants and toddlers, programs to help elementary and middle schools work more closely with families, and high school programs and community efforts to support families in providing wider opportunities for young people. The second category includes studies on the way families behave and interact with their children, including the relationship between parent involvement and student achievement from the family perspective, characteristics of families as learning environments and their effects on student performance, and class and cultural mismatch. The report finds that the family makes critical contributions to student achievement from the earliest childhood years through high school, and efforts to improve children's outcomes are much more effective when the family is actively involved. The studies show that when schools support families to develop these three conditions, children from low-income families and diverse cultural backgrounds approach the grades and test scores expected for middle-class children. They also are more likely to take advantage of a full range of educational opportunities after graduating from high school. Even with only one or two of these conditions in place, children do measurably better at school. The studies have documented these benefits for students: higher grades and test scores, better attendance and more homework done, fewer placements in special education, more positive attitudes and behavior, higher graduation rates, and greater enrollment in postsecondary education. Families benefit as well, with parents developing more confidence in the school, teachers having higher opinions of them as parents and higher expectations of their children, and parents developing more confidence not only about helping their children learn at home but about themselves as parents. Furthermore, when parents become involved in their children's education, they often enroll in continuing education to advance their own schooling. Schools and communities also profit, with schools that work well with families having improved teacher morale, higher ratings of teachers by parents, more support from families, higher student achievement, and better reputations in the community. When parents are involved in their children’s education at home, their children do better in school. When parents are involved at school, their children go farther in school, and the schools they go to are better.This report presents 66 studies, reviews, reports, analyses, and books on the role of family in student achievement. Of these, 39 are new, and 27 have been carried over from previous editions. The research is divided into two categories: (1) studies on programs and interventions from early childhood through high school, including school policy; and (2) studies on family processes. The first category includes studies that evaluate or assess the effects of programs and interventions, such as early childhood and preschool programs, home visits for families with infants and toddlers, programs to help elementary and middle schools work more closely with families, and high school programs and community efforts to support families in providing wider opportunities for young people. The second category includes studies on the way families behave and interact with their children, including the relationship between parent involvement and student achievement from the family perspective, characteristics of families as learning environments and their effects on student performance, and class and cultural mismatch. The report finds that the family makes critical contributions to student achievement from the earliest childhood years through high school, and efforts to improve children's outcomes are much more effective when the family is actively involved. The studies show that when schools support families to develop these three conditions, children from low-income families and diverse cultural backgrounds approach the grades and test scores expected for middle-class children. They also are more likely to take advantage of a full range of educational opportunities after graduating from high school. Even with only one or two of these conditions in place, children do measurably better at school. The studies have documented these benefits for students: higher grades and test scores, better attendance and more homework done, fewer placements in special education, more positive attitudes and behavior, higher graduation rates, and greater enrollment in postsecondary education. Families benefit as well, with parents developing more confidence in the school, teachers having higher opinions of them as parents and higher expectations of their children, and parents developing more confidence not only about helping their children learn at home but about themselves as parents. Furthermore, when parents become involved in their children's education, they often enroll in continuing education to advance their own schooling. Schools and communities also profit, with schools that work well with families having improved teacher morale, higher ratings of teachers by parents, more support from families, higher student achievement, and better reputations in the community. When parents are involved in their children’s education at home, their children do better in school. When parents are involved at school, their children go farther in school, and the schools they go to are better.