What 50CAN found when they talked to 20,000 parents

A Q&A with Marc Porter-Magee

In October of 2024, 50CAN published The State of Educational Opportunity in America, a poll of 20,000 American parents. It asked questions related to school quality and opportunity; tutoring, summer, and mental health; out of school activities; information and engagement; and college and career readiness.

I reached out to 50CAN Founder and CEO Marc Porter-Magee to ask him a few questions and he kindly responded. Our lightly edited conversation is below.

CONWAY: What did you seek to learn from doing this survey?

PORTER-MAGEE: We wanted to know more about all the educational opportunities kids are experiencing, how those opportunities varied across groups and across states, and how parents felt about their kids’ progress. These were questions that could only be answered through a 20,000-parent poll.

C: What are some of the findings that stood out to you the most?

P-M: I think one big pattern that emerged is that the most unequal part of the American educational experience is all the opportunities for growth and learning beyond the typical school day. For example, while 88% of the children of the wealthy attend summer camp, it is only 33% for families making less than $25,000 a year. Similarly, while 72% of wealthy children have a tutor, it is only 22% for low-income children. Across pretty much every aspect of learning outside the classroom, the odds are stacked against poor kids.

C: Are any states doing a good job in providing educational opportunities for families?

P-M: Yes, fortunately we are making a lot of progress in the states right now. Take, Louisiana for example. Not only did they push through a big new universal ESA, which can be used for tutoring as well as lots of other educational expenses, but they also made a huge investment in the expansion of free tutoring for kids in district and charter schools.

C: What educational opportunities are parents prioritizing? Does this change by the demographic of the parent?

P-M: When you ask parents if they had extra time or money, which activity would be most beneficial for their child, the number one answer is more sports followed by more arts and then more tutoring. However, for low-income families their top choice is more arts. For the very wealthy, leadership programs are much more important.

C: Where is there unmet demand for families?

P-M: One of the biggest areas of unmet demand is CTE programs in high school. Regardless of family income, interest in these programs is 3-4 times the current levels of participation.

C: What is the role of income when it comes to accessing different educational opportunities?

P-M: It’s striking. For example, when you chart the percentage of families that choose a school other than the traditional district school they are assigned to, you see that 75% of wealthy families are exercising school choice, compared to just 26% of low-income families.

C: The survey found that only 39% of parents with children in traditional public schools are very satisfied with their school, compared to 70% of parochial school parents and 65% of homeschool parents. What does this disparity tell us?

P-M: It tells me that if we removed the financial and legal barriers that force kids into one assigned school, we would likely see a huge shift in what kind of school kids go to and probably you would also see happier parents.

C: You look at multiple different types of schools in this survey. What are some of the key differences concerning these schooling models and how they deliver education?

P-M: Different school models have different strengths. For example, private schools have very high sports participation rates, where as microschools have very high levels of student volunteering rates.

C: How are parents receiving information about their child’s school and education?

P-M: The most common way parents get information is through their child’s teacher or from the official channels from the school or district. But wealthier families look more to tests for evidence of student success and more to other parents to find new educational opportunities.

C: How can states use the findings of this survey to improve educational opportunities?

P-M: I think it’s a great way for states to see their relative strengths and weakness, and also find neighboring states that can serve as a model for how to aim higher.

C: What do the findings of this survey mean for the future of educational choice?

P-M: I think it adds fuel to the movement to expand choices for families. It is clear this is something families want.