The Influence of a High-Stakes Setting on Student Ratings of Teachers in Middle and High School

• In Event: Can Accountability Lead to Improved Teacher Quality?

Abstract

When considering possible measures of teacher effectiveness in K-12 education, it can be argued that student opinions of a teacher are an important consideration in any teacher evaluation system because students have the most contact with teachers and are the direct consumers of a teacher’s service (Goe, Bell, & Little, 2008). Despite the promise of using student surveys as a measure of teacher evaluation, it is unclear whether student ratings would change depending on whether students take the survey in a high stakes situation for the teacher. The current investigation seeks to address this concern by administering a student survey on teacher effectiveness in both high stakes and low stakes settings and comparing results.

Authors

• Ryan Balch, Vanderbilt University

• Matthew G. Springer, Vanderbilt University

• Ron Zimmer, Vanderbilt University