Student Surveys for School Teacher Evaluation

Abstract

Student's reports have the potential to add much useful information about school teacher quality. However, much research has centered on post secondary settings and many questions remain about the use of pupil surveys for K-12 teachers. The Davis County School District (Utah) uses pupil surveys as one teacher-chosen data source for teacher evaluation. The surveys of 9,765 students were analyzed for patterns of response. Item analysis suggests that pupils responded with reliability and validity. Some individual items are more defensible than others for conceptual and empirical reasons. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]