Ngā reo e toru: “Trissessment”—from invitation to expectation

Teachers understand the importance of whānau (family) involvement for children’s learning. This understanding comes from their own experience as teachers, from an extensive published research base, and, in Aotearoa New Zealand from the national early childhood education curriculum, Te Whāriki. Early childhood teachers also know that finding acceptable ways to engage whānau on a regular and equal basis can be challenging. This article reports on the pilot stage of a new perspective on assessment that includes earlier involvement of whānau, suggesting that whānau may welcome and gain new insights from being expected to consider and comment on their children’s learning before the kaiako (teacher) has offered any analysis. We have named this process trissessment: the inclusion of children’s, whānau and teachers’ voices.