Parental involvement in schools in Spain and Germany: Evidence from PISA 2015

•PISA 2015 calculates the school efforts to involve parents and parental involvement.•German principals believe they include parents more in decision-making than Spaniards.•Spanish parental involvement in the school is greater than in Germany.•If parents spend little time talking to their children, performance is lower.•Nor does always helping children with homework improve academic performance.