“Two Cheers for Gates Foundation Student Survey Research” — Guest Post By Dr. John Thompson
(Editor’s Note: As regular readers know, I’ve written a great deal about how I use student evaluations to improve my classes and my instruction (see The Best Posts On Students Evaluating Classes (And Teachers). I’ve invited Dr. John Thompson to add his thoughts on the topic. )
Guest Post by Dr. John ThompsonEducation consultant Craig Jerald deserves at least two cheers for his analysis of the Gates Foundation’s recent reports on the use of student survey data to improve instruction. Jerald explained that Gates researchers do not anticipate students giving a summative grade for their teacher. “Instead, they are asked a series of carefully worded questions about their classroom experiences that measure specific kinds of instructional practices and classroom conditions that are conducive to student learning.”
Jerald challenged the loose wording of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who said, “I would love to have the students grade the teachers at the end of the year as opposed to just the other way around so that teachers get feedback” He then praised Amanda Ripley’s “engaging and informative” Atlantic article, “Why Kids Should Grade Teachers,” while adding, “Just skip the headline.”
Jerald argued that “nobody anywhere is really asking students to ‘grade teachers,’ and when journalists, pundits, and presidential candidates call it that, they risk undermining the very tool they seek to champion.” He worried