Nearly 6 in 10 Parents of A and B Students Say Their Child Struggled or Fell Behind This Year, National Survey Finds

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Brighterly

Sep 16, 2026, 08:44 ET

Survey of 1,177 U.S. parents follows PISA 2025 results showing U.S. reading among the lowest the country has recorded

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In a national survey of 1,177 parents of students in kindergarten through 10th grade, 58.6% of parents whose child earns mostly A's or A's and B's said the child struggled or fell behind in math or reading in the past 12 months, close to the 60.7% of all parents surveyed. Online tutoring platform Brighterly released the full results today.

Among parents of mostly-A students, 46.5% said the same. Yet 87% of A and B parents who noticed a problem expect their child to start the school year the same as or ahead of June.

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Share of parents who say their child fell behind in math or reading in the past 12 months, by the grades the child usually earns. Source: Brighterly survey of 1,177 U.S. parents of children in grades K-10, 2026.
Share of parents who say their child fell behind in math or reading in the past 12 months, by the grades the child usually earns. Source: Brighterly survey of 1,177 U.S. parents of children in grades K-10, 2026.
Where parents turn first when worried about schoolwork, how often they use each source, and how much they trust it. Source: Brighterly survey of 1,177 U.S. parents of children in grades K-10, 2026.
Where parents turn first when worried about schoolwork, how often they use each source, and how much they trust it. Source: Brighterly survey of 1,177 U.S. parents of children in grades K-10, 2026.

The survey follows PISA 2025, released by the OECD on Sept. 8. U.S. 15-year-olds' average reading score fell 14 points from 2022, to 490, among the lowest results recorded for the country. Internationally, students who did not use AI chatbots for schoolwork generally scored higher in science than those who did.

AI and hidden gaps

  • 50.9% of parents agreed AI tools make it easier for their child to hide that they don't understand something.
  • Among parents who turn to AI chatbots for schoolwork advice at least weekly, 68.7% agreed, versus 38.6% of those who never do.
  • When worried about schoolwork, 48.4% of parents turn first to their child's teacher. Only 2.0% turn first to an AI assistant.

Persistence drops in math

  • 29.5% of parents said their child keeps trying until they get it in a game or app they enjoy; 17.8% said the same of math homework.

"Some skills are load-bearing. When they're missing, everything built on top of them gets shaky, and the child doesn't catch up just by sitting through the next year of curriculum," said Claire Smizer-Muldoon, a former classroom teacher who helped develop Brighterly's ELA curriculum. "This is why 'we'll catch up next year' so often doesn't work."

"A report card tells you how a child did on the work that was handed in. It doesn't tell you whether the child can do that work alone, and a lot of parents are sensing the difference," said Eugene Kashuk, founder and CEO of Brighterly. "September is the time to raise it with the teacher, not June."

Full findings, charts and methodology: https://brighterly.com/blog/child-struggling-in-school/

Methodology
Brighterly commissioned this online survey through Pollfish. Respondents were 1,177 U.S. parents or guardians with at least one child in kindergarten through 10th grade and no child in 11th or 12th grade, surveyed Aug. 5–15, 2026. Parents answered about one focal child.

About Brighterly
Brighterly is a K–12 online learning platform for math and reading, providing 1:1 tutoring and personalized practice for students and families.

Media contact
Hanna Mishchenko, Brighterly
+447340164027 | [email protected]

SOURCE Brighterly