Researchers in the field of education have increasingly come to value the views and experiences of students, and hearing from the students themselves. This research note explores the challenges a researcher sought to gather student voice from Cook Islands tertiary students. The combination of research design and cultural mores meant Cook Islands participants faced barriers and could not comfortably talk about improvements they would like to see in tertiary assessment practice. On exploration, an adjustment to the research design was made that was culturally accepted and enabled participants to speak their minds openly. The findings are discussed, and recommendations are proposed that may assist future researchers working within cultural worlds in ways that allow the participants to speak openly, enabling their voices to be heard.