Report Cards for Teachers: Gaining Authentic Feedback from Students

As teachers, we constantly search for ways to improve our instructional practice. We do this so that learning experiences are more engaging and rigorous for students. As a social studies teacher, you probably have some goals related to instruction. Establishing goals is part of a continual growth process, and it's important to consider student perspectives in your growth  (since we make changes for the benefit of student learning). You might gain this feedback through a paper survey or you could create a survey in Google Forms.

Below, you'll find some sample statements that might be included in your survey about instructional practice within social studies.  Students might respond with:
1. Completely agree
2. Agree
3. Disagree
4. Completely disagree

• As a class, we use Learning Targets effectively as a tool to evaluate the success of our thinking and work.
• Because we do not concentrate on memorizing facts, I want to make sure you know the skill, process or conceptual goals in our tasks. 
• As a student, I know when I am simply gathering and organizing factual information that will be used in different tasks. 
• As a student, I know when I am being evaluated based on my ability to use facts when answering one of our inquiry questions.
• As a student, I know when I am being evaluated on my ability to apply a skill or thinking process that is unique to a historian, geographer, economist, or citizen.
• As a student, I feel that the teacher effectively models what thinking looks like or what work looks like. 
• As a student, I feel that we are given enough opportunities to talk with other students about our learning. This might happen in partner conversations, small group conversations, or class conversations.
• As a student, I feel the we are given enough opportunities to use writing as we learn. I also feel that we are given enough opportunities to write about our learning. 
• As a student, I feel that our "classroom expectations for conversation" are helpful. We regularly refer to these expectations so we are successful. 
• As a student, I feel that our "classroom expectations for using writing in all content areas" is helpful. We regularly refer to these expectations so we are successful.

PLEASE NOTE the following key ideas shared by teachers who ask students to do such evaluations...

1. Students must be familiar with the language in this evaluation. If you are not using this language in your instruction, students might not know what you are talking about when you ask them to evaluate you.
2. Students must understand that you plan to take this feedback seriously. Just as you do report cards in a way that is about honesty, you hope students provide honest feedback to you.
3. Go over the data results with students. Talk with students about how you plan to use the feedback. Encourage students to use their report cards in the same way...to set new goals and improve as students.