Improvement in Tripod student survey ratings of secondary school instruction over three years

• Main Author: Bradshaw, Rachel
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: Education policy; Student surveys; Teacher development; Teacher evaluation
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/2144/23275

This study examined data from Tripod student and teacher surveys administered over three academic years in a midsized urban school district in the United States. Two multifaceted questions guided the research: (1) How do teachers’ student survey ratings tend to behave over time? (2) How, if at all, do trends in student survey ratings relate to certain teacher background characteristics and professional experiences as reported on teacher surveys? Analyses indicated significant improvement in ratings, but only during the district’s first year of student survey implementation. Teachers’ perceptions of principal leadership emerged as the variable most closely tied to increases in ratings over time. Findings varied, however, depending on the dimension of teaching measured. Taken together, the study’s results translate into several specific recommendations for leaders and policymakers interested in instructional improvement and its relationship to student surveys.