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POSSIBILITIES
for Students as Learning Evaluators
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Students evaluating classes and
schools
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Students evaluating teacher
performance and efficacy
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Students evaluating self-performance
and learning
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Students leading parent-teacher conferences
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EXAMPLES
of Students as Evaluators
Its REALLY Time to Listen In 2003, students in REAL HARD
(Representing Educated Active Leaders - Having A Righteous Dream), a
community youth leadership organization, designed and collected 1,000
report card surveys evaluating teaching, counseling, school safety and
facilities at three Oakland high schools. The students compiled their
findings, analyzed the results, and made concrete recommendations to
improve the schools in this exciting, comprehensive report. The
introduction to the report states, “There are 48,000 youth in
Oakland’s schools that are experts – who are in class every day and
who have a lot to say about how the schools are run and how to improve
our education. Whenever something happens in the schools, everyone
wants to hear from the teachers and parents - but what about the
students? Who asks our opinion? Why do we feel shut out, like no one
cares what we think?”
 Assessing
School Effectiveness
A group of self-selected student
leaders at Secondary Academy for Success (SAS), a public
alternative high school in Bothell, Washington, were trained
in school change and student voice. Afterward they facilitated
a schoolwide forum for students and teachers, addressing such
areas as teacher quality, building design, and curriculum. The
students compiled their findings into a report for their
peers, also presenting it to the school staff and the district
school board. The school principal created positions for
students on the school re-design committee and now regards
their input as essential to school improvement.
Evaluating MY Effectiveness Several middle and high school students
participated in a student evaluator program for the Teens as School
Volunteer Tutors Project in New York City. Together with an
adult evaluation facilitator, they decided to interview two groups of
subjects: an adult group made up of school professionals and the
tutors’ own parents and a student group made up of both tutors and
their tutees. The student evaluators devised interview forms,
agreed on interview assignments, and drew up a time line for
completion. The students completed 57 interviews, and analyzed
them with the adult facilitator. During the analysis period the
students reflected on their experiences and what they learned, and
assessed their data. The student evaluators then made several
recommendations that have since been integrated into the program.
In reflection, the adult facilitator wrote that the use of student
evaluators was ideal, resulting in usable data, stronger leadership
skills, and greater school awareness of the tutoring program itself.
Voice & Purpose
- A range of
students participated in a recent Bay Area (California) School Reform
Collaborative project. One school invited students to share
their views on what needed to be changed, and how to
accomplish those changes. The students then joined teachers
to analyze the data gathered. They found that there were five
main concerns students raised, including better communication
between staff and students, higher quality teaching, and
better counseling and support. The students then presented
these findings to their teachers during an after-school
meeting. The reform leadership at the school was amazed by
the way the student evaluators maneuvered the concerns of
other students, carefully making sure adults understood what
each concern truly was. The students learned about how to
conduct research on an important issue in their school and how
to present that information to teachers. Many students
reported that participating in the evaluation process improved
their self-opinions and provided opportunities to develop
meaningful interactions with adults at school
Best Practices
Club The purpose of
Best Practices is to involve students in the process of improving
teaching and learning at the high school. Teachers volunteer to invite
student observers into their classrooms to observe and document
teaching and learning. The results (the information and examples of
best teaching practices that students glean from these classrooms) are
analysed, discussed, and shared with the school community.
Student-led Conferences Project
Growing a Trend: Student-Led Conferencing
Building Better Students
- LA High School Students Assess their
School.
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Tools
for Students as Evaluators
Students As Evaluators: A Model For Program
Evaluation Campbell, P., Edgar, S., Halsted, A.L.
(October 1994). Phi Delta Kappan. 160-165.
Listening to Student Voices: Self-study Toolkit.
Northwest Regional Education Laboratory.
(2001) Portland, OR: Author.
Purdue Teacher
Evaluation Scale
Student-Led
Research on Schools Example Page
A collection of student-written research studies focusing on
school.
How to research issues at your school
[PDF] A guide to action research
written for youth.
Sample surveys for students
[PDF] Designed by students working
with What Kids Can Do's Students as Allies Project, these
surveys will help you listen to student voice.
A sample survey written by students
[PDF] A survey written by students with Youth in Focus in
California that asks students how successful they think their
schools are.
Guide to Getting Started
A short how-to from CIRCLE on
creating a student-led research project.
Criteria to Assess Youth Involvement in Decision-Making
This is a powerfully comprehensive measurement of youth
involvement in schools by the Canadian Association on School
Health. It includes the relationship of youth involvement to the
sponsoring organization; the nature of youth involvement; the
processes of youth involvement; applications of youth
involvement, and; evidence of youth involvement.
Student Voice Indicator Tool
[MS Word doc] The Government of
South Australia designed this tool to measure several aspects of
student voice throughout schools.
Ladder of Student
Involvement Adam
Fletcher adapted this tool from the work of Roger Hart in order
to identify potential location of students throughout school
decision-making.
Framework for
Assessing Student Voice
Prof. Michael Fielding first established this framework in 2001
for Forum. Since then, dozens of projects have used it to
evaluate their efforts.
Student-Designed & Delivered Classroom Observation Tool
Students at Lexington High
School in Massachusetts use this tool to evaluate their
teachers' classroom performance.
Guide to Consulting Students about Schools
[PDF] From a UK-based project that studies "pupil voice" in
schools for students under-18 years old.
Turn Up the Volume: The Students Speak Toolkit
(Third Edition). Roberts &
Kay, Inc. (2002). Lexington, KY: Partnership for Kentucky Schools.
Listening to Student Voices
(2001) Northwest Regional Education Lab.
Incorporating student voice into teaching practice.
Kordalewski, J. (1999). ED440049. Washington, DC:
ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education.
SoundOut webpage on
Students as Researchers
Overcoming Barriers to
Student Voice
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