Abstract: Parents' and teachers' perceptions of students' proximal academic abilities, such as being able to complete their school work, retain what they learn, and achieve sufficiently compared to other students their age, were analyzed for how well they predict parents' forms of involvement in their children's education and teachers' forms of communication to parents. This was a secondary analysis of data collected from parents and teachers in two Title I, public middle schools in a large, urban city in the Southwest. Measures were completed in either English or Spanish with approximately 50% of the sample population completing the questionnaires in Spanish. Parent involvement and teacher communication practices were measured by the School and Family Partnerships Survey. Parents' and teachers' perceptions of students' proximal academic abilities were measured using a teacher-rating version of the Perceived Competence Scale for Children. Linear regression analyses revealed that parents' perceptions did not predict their involvement, nor did teachers' perceptions predict their communication. This remained true after controlling for classroom organization, family language, and parents' teaching efficacy. Although parents' and teachers' perceptions did not predict involvement in this study, perceptions of children's academic abilities should be further explored in relation to family-school relationships. The results suggest that involvement in middle school occurs in ways distinctive from elementary school. Therefore, improved instruments are needed to more accurately measure parent involvement and teacher communication at grade levels beyond elementary school.