Too often, assessment results contribute to a competitive atmosphere between schools and districts. The public typically thinks that achievement data is somehow the rating of the building, When assessment data for a school shows a low rating, parents and others in the school community have a tendency to blame the school environment.

Accurate and useful reporting of assessment results enables educators and the public to understand why various assessment instruments are being given and how the results will be used as part of the school improvement process. The real goal of reporting assessment results to the public is to help children learn. Yet this message may not be reported or conveyed when schools release assessment results.

This study provides an important overview of what some minority parents know and believe about the assessments their children take based upon information provided by various sources as well as misconceptions of student assessment results. It was hypothesized that the more sources of information parents used, the more informed they would be and the lower the performance of the school, the more negative their attitudes would be towards the school. Based upon a survey, the parents’ total scores were computed using chi square analyses.

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