Student surveys can help evaluate teacher effectiveness

By Danicia Honda

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Feb 13, 2013

~~<p>As the student voice on Hawaii’s Board of Education, I understand that we are asking more of students than ever before, and we hope our teachers continue to strive to be highly effective instructors. The Tripod survey is just one of four parts of the Educator Effectiveness System (EES), which is now in its second year of being piloted at 81 schools.</p>
<p>Opponents of the student survey claim that lower-achieving students or ones who have it out for a teacher can skew results; however, Harvard University researchers designed the survey with safeguards against malicious responses. This survey is currently being used in 23 states and many school districts as part of new teacher evaluations. Research involving more than 3,000 teachers showed that the use of student surveys is the strongest predictor of effective teaching.</p>
~~

As the student voice on Hawaii’s Board of Education, I understand that we are asking more of students than ever before, and we hope our teachers continue to strive to be highly effective instructors. The Tripod survey is just one of four parts of the Educator Effectiveness System (EES), which is now in its second year of being piloted at 81 schools.

Opponents of the student survey claim that lower-achieving students or ones who have it out for a teacher can skew results; however, Harvard University researchers designed the survey with safeguards against malicious responses. This survey is currently being used in 23 states and many school districts as part of new teacher evaluations. Research involving more than 3,000 teachers showed that the use of student surveys is the strongest predictor of effective teaching. Login for more...