New York City students as young as eight years old have been evaluating their teachers' ability to explain information, manage student behavior and make lessons interesting.
In the last two months they took the Tripod Student Participation Survey, tailored for New York City in two versions: one for younger students in third through fifth grades; the other for older students in grades six through 12.
"We’re looking to get a sense of how they feel supported in their learning, whether they feel heard, how they feel about the environment of their classroom and how that allows them to be independent thinkers," said Phil Weinberg, deputy chancellor for teaching and learning.
The surveys were administered as part of a citywide pilot to incorporate student feedback into teacher performance reviews. New York City education officials proposed adding student surveys in its draft evaluation plan in 2013, and former State Education Commissioner John King incorporated them into the final plan he imposed on the city that year. Under that mandate, student survey data would count for 5 percent of a teacher's rating.
But New York State legislators and Gov. Andrew Cuomo agreed on a new framework to revise teacher evaluations in the budget approved on April 1. Student surveys were not part of their plan.
Still, without the details of a new evaluation system in place, the city proceeded with its plan. It spent approximately $6 million to pilot the Tripod surveys, led by school principals who administered the questionnaires this spring.
"Planning for the facilitation has been as intensive as standardized testing," said Anthony Armstrong, principal of J.H.S. 74 Nathaniel Hawthorne.
He had to straighten out the logistics of students filling out surveys for multiple teachers, while managing how and which teachers proctor the surveys to protect student confidentiality.
Armstrong said his students would take the surveys this week. Schools have until Friday, June 19, to administer them.
Students have the right to opt out of the surveys, which also complicated logistics for principals and, some said, called into question the validity of the survey data. Still, supporters of using student feedback argued no one knows the classroom experience better than students, and their voices should be heard.
"I think it is important because I feel like how the students interact with the teacher does affect their learning," said Haley Giancaspro, a 9th-grader at Gramercy Arts High School. "But I'm also concerned about personal biases getting in the way of telling the truth."
Mark Santapan, who is in 10th grade at the Academy for Software Engineering, said he took the survey seriously and thinks students should be asked about how teachers are doing in the classroom.
"Because then they know your feedback and maybe they'll take you up on it," he said.
Education officials said teachers would receive feedback from the confidential surveys after the pilot was completed.
