The breakfast of champions: Student surveys to sustain and cultivate teachers

Abstract

Feedback is an essential ingredient for professional growth, but teachers receive limited feedback that is actually useful. Audrey Amrein-Beardsley and Tray Geiger discuss the flaws in two common forms of teacher feedback, value-added measures and classroom observations, often used as part of a summative evaluation. They suggest that student evaluations can add important data to help teachers improve, especially if used formatively and not to inform high-stakes decisions. They offer general guidance on how to construct and administer these surveys.