Children Filling Out Evaluation Forms
Found in: Studio Management
Mark M. New York
Here’s something interesting.
I got an evaluation form back, and for “Do you willingly recommend others to your teacher?” the circle was around “No” even though most of the form was essentially positive.
I inquired politely, assuring that they were not obligated to recommend me, but just expressing curiosity to see if there was anything they wanted to share about that, that I’d be grateful to know.
The parent told me that, per my instructions, he only helped the 6-year-old child complete the form, and that all responses were therefore hers, and I should take that into account.
The implication was also that this would explain why No was circled regarding the Curriculum Overview even though at the beginning of lessons I’d ensured that the families had all gotten it and read it.
Has anyone else had people by quite that literal about the request that students complete the form themselves, to the point where a parent would allow certain answers to go through to you that would, basically, misrepresent things like that, and on the grounds that they were just following your instructions about how the form should be completed?
Has anyone else thought that it might be useful for the evaluation forms to explicitly provide opportunities for separate student and parent/coach feedback, so that not only would confusions like this be avoided but also so that relevant feedback could more easily be gotten from everyone involved?
Robin Keehn, Washington
I think that there could be a line on the form that simply says, “Please indicate who filled out this form.” That way we know. When I review the evaluation forms, it is usually quite easy to see by the handwriting and the grammar if the form was filled out by a child. If I cannot tell who filled the form out and one answer is really out of sync with the rest of the comments, I will look to see if all the forms have the same anomaly. If they do, I look into it.
I think that if you have concerns, you should do exactly what you did–ask! You can also put a note on an evaluation form if you think I should be aware of something.
Finally, I do sometimes see separate comments from the parent and student on the same form. I think that is perfectly appropriate and you can even mention to parents that they are welcome to submit their own feedback in addition to that of their student.
Terah W. Kansas
I have been thinking about the evaluation forms as well and for now I am going to have the student fill one out and have the parent fill one out as well, even taking class time to do so. Since it is for my purposes alone, I think it will be helpful to see where both of them fall in terms of perspectives. Plus, I think it might help the child feel as though he is part of the entire team. I have several of these coming down the pike soon so I will share whatever insights I think I see from this approach. I have some theories and am looking forward to see if I am correct.
Beth W. Tennessee
If I as a teacher have a proper relationship with my students, then chances are, a form is not going to tell me anything new that I shouldn’t already have known or sensed. Therefore, had I received the form with the “no” circled, and already being quite certain of our relationship, I would have easily dismissed it as a child thing. Honestly, what kids do recommend their teachers to others? Probably none. That’s just not the type of conversations that 6 yr olds have. Or even 10 yr olds or 15 yr olds. So I wouldn’t give it a second thought. And no big deal either if the parent took your request literal and let the child fill out the evaluation. In the scheme of their life and responsibilities, it really is quite trivial and they probably don’t much care about it. The gauge is the relationship and your intuition about it, not some form.