HSTA can learn from students

The Hawaii State Teachers Association should have more faith in the public-school students its members are charged with educating.

The union, which represents 13,500 public and charter school teachers statewide, has criticized a new teacher evaluation system that rightly includes feedback from students as a small element of the assessment.

The HSTA went so far as to poll its members — and of the 1,340 teachers who replied, 87 percent said they did not believe their students could understand the questions on the Tripod Project Student Survey.

But now the preliminary findings of that legitimate student survey are in, and the results are largely favorable, with Hawaii’s public high-school teachers exceeding the national average in all seven areas assessed by students, and upper elementary teachers exceeding the national average in four and scoring about average in the other three.

Now does the union think the students can understand the questions?

Although dismayed that some teachers had so little faith in their students’ ability to accurately fill out the Tripod questionnaire, it is important to note that only a fraction of HSTA members expressed that doubt — after all, only a fraction of them answered the HSTA’s question.

So we’re confident that most teachers recognize that the vast majority of Hawaii children who are the compulsory consumers of public education in this state are perfectly capable of judging whether their instructors are challenging, caring and have good control of their classroom.

Those are the sort of factors that the Tripod survey is designed to gauge: seven elements of classroom practice found to correspond with high-quality teaching.

The questions are tailored according to the age of the students. So kindergarteners and first-graders get a simplified "yes," "no," or "maybe" questionnaire and are asked to agree or disagree with statements such as, "I like the way my teacher treats me when I need help." The preliminary survey results for this age group have yet to be released.

Older students are asked to indicate how strongly they agree or disagree with statements such as, "In this class, we learn to correct our mistakes" and "Students behave so badly in this class that it slows down our learning."

The survey is a part of the Department of Education’s Hawaii Educator Effectiveness System, which is fully described at http://bit.ly/1hd5EYp.

Hearing directly from students about how they perceive their own educational experiences is an essential element of any system designed to boost our public schools, reward the best teachers and help the struggling ones improve or find another line of work. The HSTA should seek and welcome students’ input, as the preliminary results of the Tripod Project Student Survey prove.

About 171,200 students completed the questionnaire last fall, as the survey was rolled out statewide after being piloted on a limited basis in prior school years. The children’s opinions can be integrated by individual schools as teachers continually refine their methods to help more students succeed, but the survey also will carry weight in the DOE’s high-stakes teacher evaluation system — that’s what makes it controversial.

Starting next fall, personnel consequences such as pay raises, tenure and termination will be tied to the results of the performance evaluations. The student survey, however, is a relatively minor factor, with at least two semesters worth of survey results accounting for only 10 percent of a classroom teacher’s evaluation.

Children are the consumers of our public education system, and they deserve a major voice in efforts to improve it. This survey is a valid, reliable way to collect their opinions.

The HSTA should embrace this tool. The preliminary results make clear that most teachers have nothing to fear from their students’ honest feedback, and others are sure to learn something from it.