Bill would let students grade teachers
Measure voluntary, but foes say it could do more harm than good.
By Jim Sanders, Sacramento Bee (sacbee.com, April 11, 2004)

After years of getting graded by teachers, California's high school students want to turn the tables.
They've persuaded legislators to propose a state law that would let them evaluate their teachers on issues such as:

* My teacher knows a lot about the subject.

* The class work is made interesting.

* My teacher's grading system is fair.

* My teacher is well organized.

"The goal is to continuously improve instruction," said Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg, a Los Angeles Democrat who chairs the Assembly Education Committee. "Most of the people who are getting the instruction now aren't being asked (their opinion)."

Goldberg introduced the measure, AB 2370, after it was conceived by the California Association of Student Councils, representing campuses statewide.

The legislation would require the state Department of Education to prepare an evaluation form for annual distribution to high school teachers.

The bill is relatively modest in scope: Teachers would decide for themselves whether to allow grading by their classes; results would be confidential; and students' comments would be viewed only by the instructor they critique.

Nonetheless, AB 2370 has stirred controversy.

Some teachers fear that AB 2370, envisioned as optional, might spark future legislation to mandate such grading, said Goldberg, a former Los Angeles teacher.

"They're concerned that if you open the door to something they actually agree with, then eventually it will get turned into something they really oppose," Goldberg said.

Other critics fear that students would not take the questionnaire seriously or would exploit it to insult or embarrass teachers. Internet sites have been used for such purposes in years past, critics note.

"We wouldn't just jump on board, there's no doubt about that, because these things are fraught with problems," said Mary Bergan, president of the California Federation of Teachers.

Nancy Waltz, president of the San Juan Teachers Association, said she has not seen AB 2370 but is wary of the proposal.

"Usually teachers know how they're doing through conferencing with parents and working with parents and students," Waltz said. "I don't think at this time we need anything like this ... what we need right now is for teachers to evaluate principals."

If lawmakers require an optional student-teacher grading system, teachers should be integrally involved in its development, Waltz said.

Students interviewed randomly last week at Sacramento's Arden Fair mall applauded AB 2370.

"They grade us on how we perform, so we should grade them on how they perform," said Chris Cade, 16, of Sacramento.

"They could see how they're teaching us and what they could do to make us understand better," said LeAndra Mesa, 15, of Sacramento.

Chelsea Kirby, a 15-year-old Sacramentan, said most students would take the responsibility seriously.

"But some kids - those who don't like the teacher and are just messing around and not trying to learn anything - would probably just say something to make the teacher mad," Kirby said.

Even without a statewide program, Goldberg said she routinely solicited student opinions and many teachers continue to do so.

"I got some interesting feedback," she said. "I had kids who said the thing they learned most from was group work. I had only used it occasionally, so I started using it more. I had students who said my pacing on teaching research papers was too fast, so I slowed it down. They really give you good answers."

Goldberg said she has asked teacher groups and student leaders to try to work out their differences over AB 2370.

But Goldberg is adamant that the grading program remain optional as the bill progresses through the Legislature.

"We don't want it to become a stick to beat teachers up with," she said.

Rick Pratt, assistant executive director of the California School Boards Association, said the agency has not yet taken a position on AB 2370.

"In general, we think the students' point of view could be valuable," he said. "If I were a teacher, I'd want to know how kids perceive me. I'd want input from as many sources as I could get."

But Bob Wells, executive director of the Association of California School Administrators, said he's not sure that good teachers would necessarily receive the highest marks.

"If some teacher has high standards and pushes the kids to work hard, does that make for a good or bad response from students?" he asked.

Added Wells: "It's the principal's job to evaluate the teacher, and I'm not sure you need student feedback in order to do that."