Should Students Be Able to Grade Their Teachers?

My first year teaching in Compton, California, I asked some of my students who they thought was the meanest teacher in the school. The consensus was unanimous: “Ms. Wysinger is SO mean! She makes you do all your homework. If you don’t, you miss your recess. And she’s always giving quizzes. And you can’t talk in her class.” After a few minutes of venting, the students conceded, “Yeah, I guess she’s cool sometimes.” I spent lots of time in Ms. Wysinger’s room learning from her because indeed, she was serious about teaching—and her students’ grades and test scores were correspondingly phenomenal. So when I recently read about a new teacher evaluation plan approved for the Memphis Public Schools where student opinions will now count for five percent, I couldn’t help but wonder how students would mark the no-nonsense teachers like her.