It is always interesting to see politicians, businesspeople and the media lay the blame for poor educational performance at the feet of teachers and school administrators. While educators should face the consequences for students not reaching educational standards, so should parents.
Parents are the first teachers of their children and should maintain that responsibility as their child(ren) go through the educational system. Parents are responsible for ensuring their children arrive on school on time, do all of their homework, study for tests, get enough sleep, each breakfast, remember their textbooks, paper, pencils and have a positive attitude toward school and learning. That responsibility does not diminish or disappear when their child enters middle or high school. In fact, it should probably increase.
While many parents accept that responsibility, some do not. As an educator, I can tell you that when we had open school, there were far more parents visitors in the former category than in the latter one.
Yes, teachers and school administrators do have a responsibility to provide a meaningful educational experience, parents share in that responsibility as well.