Parents were surveyed on their expectations for how much success their child will achieve, both in the present and the future. They rated the following three statements on a scale of 1-4 (1 = definitely will not, 4 = definitely will):

• respondent expects child will graduate from high school and get a regular high school diploma
• respondent expects child will attend school after high school
• respondent expects child to graduate from a 4-year college

Parents rated a fourth statement on a different 1-4 scale (1 = definitely graduate from a 4-year college, 4 = definitely will not graduate from a 2-year college)

• respondent's overall college expectations from child