and work ethic to their kids.) Or perhaps they care a great deal about education, and about their children in general. (Which means they create an en- vironment that encourages and rewards learning.) Such parents may believe-as fervently as the governor of Illinois believed-that every childrens book is a talisman that leads to unfettered intelligence. But they are probably wrong. A book is in fact less a cause of intelligence than an indicator. So what does all this have to say about the importance of parents in general? Consider again the eight ECLS factors that are correlated with school test scores:     The child has highly educated parents. The childs parents have high socioeconomic status. The childs mother was thirty or older at the time of her first childs birth. The child had low birthweight. The childs parents speak English in the home. The child is adopted. The childs parents are involved in the PTA. The child has many books in his home. And the eight factors that are not: The childs family is intact. The childs parents recently moved into a better neighborhood. The childs mother didnt work between birth and kinder- garten. The child attended Head Start. The childs parents regularly take him to museums. W hat Mak e s a P erf ect P ar ent ?