Teachers Know, but We Do Too: The Case of Mayan Parents’ Assessment Knowledge

ABSTRACT

Parents’ conceptions of assessment are important as they have a key role in supporting their child’s educational goals. Through two focus group interviews conducted in Spanish, Mayan mothers (N = 8) discussed their experiences acquiring assessment knowledge. The results suggest that the parents held basic conceptions of assessment, and described different assessment experiences for different purposes. The study highlights how parents interact with different stakeholders when reaching out for assessment information, and how they balance the needs of their child, family, and community. The overall implications can help parents ask assessment questions, become more knowledgeable in the educational process, and inform teacher education programs on how to talk to parents.

KEYWORDS:

• Assessment knowledge
• assessment literacy
• migrant parents
• teacher
• students

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.