The purpose of this study was to explore parents' views about elementary age children regarding the role that prior knowledge and availability of resources play in relation to students' achievement on the New York State math exam. This qualitative study included interviews with ten mothers (one Indian, one Caucasian, one African American, and seven Caribbean). These parents were from suburban areas in New York State. They gave information about eight female and two male children. Six of these students took the Terranova math exams in kindergarten and four did not take this test. All of the parents had children who took the New York State third grade Math exams in 2017. There were five parents who had children in public schools, four who had children in charter schools, and one who had a child in private school. The study was grounded in attribution theory, specifically focusing on the child-related factor of (prior knowledge) and environmental factors (resources) as they played a role in parents' views about their child's achievement. Parents were interviewed and the results coded using the attribution theory (external or internal, stable or unstable, and controllable or no control). This study is significant because it can help educators, parents, and test markers better serve children through improved understanding of parent perspectives about achievement, and providing information about how parent-school collaboration may be enhanced. Keywords: parental involvement, attribution, prior knowledge, resources. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]