When Students Grade Teachers

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When Students Grade Teachers

When it comes to evaluations in education, usually the teacher evaluates the student. Although in certain college level courses, the weight is shifted to the students, allowing them to have the power to evaluate their own professors, possibly affecting their careers. It seems odd enough that a student should grade their teacher, but even stranger is that technically students have the ability to control their teachers’ positions, only by filling out a single form. Of course the forms may have excellent remarks from the students, but usually when students are given the chance to anonymously share their opinion, this does not always occur. In these situations, the teachers are put on the spot, being evaluated by their very own students, leading to various negatives which exemplify that student evaluations of teachers should not be a major consideration in the rehiring or promotion of a teacher.

Many may disagree in my opinion due to the fact that there is a large percentage of students who like their teachers and grades received, all being fair reasons to be opposed. Certain students may favor a professor and the class that they teach, causing them to positively evaluate them, which allows for the possibility of the professor be promoted. This clearly explains why these students see student evaluations of teachers as a good thing. Even with this being said, I find myself disagreeing in that student evaluations of teachers will only lead to negative events such as specific teachers

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who are undeserving of a promotion receiving one, as well as numerous judgments being made from one piece of paper.

Oftentimes students find themselves disliking their teacher or professor be...

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Lee Shulman, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching says, “students get no guidance on how to critique teachers.” (). Therefore when the student has the power, various factors including disliking professors, expecting high grades, and the popularity contest aspect are all reasons why student evaluations of teachers have negative impacts. In order to prevent these evaluations from determining if one keeps their job, it is necessary to publicly reconsider their function. Student evaluations of teachers often draw out the negatives in professors and courses, occasionally spreading false words, clearly explaining that they should not be a major consideration in the rehiring or promotion of a teacher.

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