NBPTS EMC Literacy Standard 12: Collaboration with Families and Communities Practice Test

Engaging families and communities means bringing parents and caregivers into the learning process in meaningful, ongoing ways. The described approach—inviting parents to support instruction, read aloud to groups of students, and share how they use literacy in their work and daily lives—models authentic collaboration. It treats families as partners with valuable expertise and connects literacy to real-world contexts, helping students see reading and writing as useful and relevant beyond the classroom. This kind of involvement supports motivation, culturally responsive teaching, and stronger home–school connections, all of which strengthen students’ literacy development. By contrast, creating standardized tests, limiting communication with families, or assigning extra homework without parental involvement does not foster collaboration or leverage families’ knowledge and everyday literacy practices.