Students have so much to distract them. Many parents give their children money, which students use to buy candy and other junk food at school. This makes students hyper and unable to sit and concentrate for a class period. Many parents don't do the little things that foster their children's education, like buying school supplies. Many parents buy their teenagers cars when they reach 16.
Many parents think that it is the school system's job to educate their children.
Educating children is as much a part of parenting as changing diapers. Parents manage their child's education by selecting what school to attend, what classes to take and by monitoring the progress of their children. Let's face reality. Iris Metts can't come out and say that the reason county test scores are so low is because of bad parenting and lazy students. That would be political suicide.