Parents' loyalty to their children's schools means they sometimes tell inspectors they are satisfied even when the school is weak, Ofsted has said.
Most parents were very satisfied with their children's schools and unsurprisingly, it said, satisfaction related to how effective schools were.
But loyalty, especially at primary level, made parents forgive weak teaching, England's inspectorate said.
Its report was based on nearly 7,000 inspections between 2003 and 2005.
Questions
There had been an improvement in parents' links with schools in recent years, particularly at primary level, it said.
Ofsted's report - Parents' satisfaction with schools - found it was good or better in 88% of primary schools, 77% of secondary schools and 92% of special schools.
The findings relate to the 6,958 establishments inspected between September 2003 and the first week of July 2005.
They are derived from responses to the questionnaire Ofsted sends out.
This seeks parents' views on such comments as "the school seeks the views of parents and takes account of their suggestions and concerns" and "my child is not bullied or harassed at school".
Ofsted's report said: "The ethos of a school, the quality of leadership and management, the behaviour of pupils, the welfare of pupils and the handling of issues such as bullying and harassment also strongly influence parent satisfaction."
'Intense focus'
Because the loyalty factor was more pronounced with primary schools, dissatisfaction was more noticeable in the secondary sector.
"The report suggests that this could reflect a more intense focus by parents on educational outcomes at the secondary stage, or beliefs that broader aspects of education, such as social development, are more important at the primary stage," Ofsted said.
But by far the highest satisfaction ratings were among parents of children in grammar schools, with 72% rating them excellent or very good compared with 33% for all schools.
A spokesman for the Department for Education said the report was evidence of rising standards and "testimony to the hard work of teachers in meeting the needs of pupils and engaging with parents".
He added: "We have set out further ways in which schools can engage even further with parents through parent councils, home school agreements and regular reports on pupil's progress."
(BBC)
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