RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Parental Effort, School Resources, and Student Achievement JF Journal of Human Resources JO J Hum Resour FD University of Wisconsin Press SP 437 OP 453 DO 10.3368/jhr.43.2.437 VO 43 IS 2 A1 Andrew J. Houtenville A1 Karen Smith Conway YR 2008 UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/43/2/437.abstract AB This article investigates an important factor in student achievement—parental involvement. Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS), we estimate a value-added education production function that includes parental effort as an input. Parental effort equations are also estimated as a function of child, parent, household, and school characteristics. Our results suggest that parental effort has a strong positive effect on achievement that is large relative to the effect of school resources and is not captured by family background variables. Parents appear to reduce their effort in response to increased school resources, suggesting potential “crowding out” of school resources.