The Development of a Parent-Tutor Assessment Scale

Abstract

A new measure of parent-tutoring support for elementary-age children, the Parent-Tutor Assessment (PTA), is described. The PTA assesses parents' tutoring behaviors, their competency and motivation to tutor, and parent-child communication. The PTA total score was related to students ' academic, social, and behavioral adjustment in school. The PTA total score discriminated between samples of high- and low-support parents. Students who received greater parent-tutoring support tended to achieve significantly higher grades in reading, spelling, and mathematics than did less supported children.