Recent work on the transmission of educational advantage has shifted empirical attention toward the active role of parents and their parenting style. Drawing from cultural capital theory and using longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) (N = 512), this study examines how a specific style of parenting, concerted cultivation, and educational expectations relate to adolescents’ academic achievement. Results from a recursive structural equation model (SEM) confirm a direct relationship between educational expectations and achievement, but not for concerted cultivation. However, subsequent analyses indicate that educational expectations also mediate the relationship between a child’s social background and academic achievement. These results provide insights into the family’s role in the transmission of educational advantage and contribute to the larger public and scholarly debate regarding explanations for the stratification of educational outcomes.
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