Equity as family/whānau opportunities for participation in formative assessment

Family and whānau can play a productive role in assessment, but this requires teachers to establish relationships that facilitate the reciprocal exchange of information for the benefit of student learning. The extent teachers achieve this exchange for and with different students and their families is a matter of fairness and equity. In the article we argue that equitable parental participation in formative assessment relies on families being able to access information on their child's learning in forms they can understand and act on. We discuss the implications of differences in the opportunities families have to share what they know about their child's interests, strengths, and needs as part of a reciprocal exchange of information.