The impact of parental socioeconomic characteristics and engagement on children’s early academic abilities: the role of racial and economic disparities

The current study utilized the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to examine the impact of socioeconomic and parental engagement in the school system on children's proficiency in math and reading in kindergarten. The analytic sample included 18,174 kindergarten children (47% White, 13% African American, 25% Hispanic, 9% Asian, 6% other; 51% male), and OLS regression revealed that the full models for math and reading were statistically significant explaining 22 and 16% of the variance in each outcome, respectively. Parental education, household income, and school-based parental involvement emerged as the strongest and most consistent predictors of children's academic readiness, while marital status and parental depression were nonsignificant. Race/ethnicity and gender were also significant predictors, and African American and Hispanic students scored lower in math when compared to White students, whereas Asian children scored significantly higher than White peers in both math and reading. There was no statistically significant difference for reading scores between African American and White children. Girls demonstrated higher levels of reading readiness, and boys outperformed girls in math. Findings highlight the enduring influence of socioeconomic resources and parental engagement on early academic outcomes and underscore the need for policies and interventions that address structural inequities while promoting culturally responsive, family-centered support for early learning.