Giving Compass' Take:

• Esmeralda Fabián Romero explains how a new digital tool quickly assesses student readiness to help parents and teachers better understand the student's academic standing. 

• How can funders help expand the reach of this tool? 

• Find out which high schools are preparing students for college. 

Most parents think their kids are ready for the next grade. In fact, 90 percent believe their child is academically on par with or above their peers in their grade.

However, only 39 percent of teachers believe their students are at grade level when they start the new school year.

The reality is that only about 1 in 3 eighth-graders read and do math at grade level, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. For Latinos, it’s less than 1 in 5.

To help teachers and parents assess a child’s academic achievement level, the nonprofit education research group Learning Heroes this week launched a new “readiness check” interactive digital tool to close that perception gap.

Lopez-Aflitto said this online tool, designed by experts in reading and math standards specifically for K-8 students and their parents, is unique because it gives parents an assessment within minutes of their child’s skills from the previous grade.

The student is asked three to five questions in both reading and math, and parents get instant results about their child’s grade-level progress. Most importantly, she said, it provides resources and activities online that can help improve specific skills where the child may be behind.

Read the full article about assessing student readiness by Esmeralda Fabián Romero at The 74.