Senate Bill (SB) 1422 was introduced in 2008 in the hopes of giving California students a greater say in how teachers should be teaching their high school classes.  The bill has since been amended and passed so that 9th to 12th graders in California public schools can start rating teacher performance and their administrative efficiency.  Since the day it is filed, this bill has become a hot topic of discussion. Below are some pros an cons as to why allowing high schoolers to rate their teachers may or may not work.

Pros

• As mentioned in the bill, a student committee will work with faculty to create a student evaluation survey. This evaluation form is then given to students to their teachers on various criteria from knowledge to  efficiency. The effect is that this will let teachers know their strengths and weaknesses and help their long term development.
• In a education, much like any organization, communication is key.  This bill allows students to voice their opinion about what helps and hinders their studies.  It can help them feel as if their are part of a process and what they think also counts. Sometimes only a student can tell if the teacher’s teaching methods are working.
• Right now, most middle and high schools do not have any uniform process of teacher assessment through student feedback. This bill will fill that gap. 
• Survey responses would be confidential and made known only to the teacher whose is being surveyed. Administrators and other district officials would be prohibited from viewing any completed survey without the express written consent of the teacher to whom the survey relates.

Cons

• The main argument that the California Teachers Association gives against this bill is that it will provide immense power in the hands of students who may use it to get back at teachers they don’t like.  And that the surveys have the potential to become publicly available.
• The major drawback of this bill seems that it is not a mandatory one. Teachers who do not want to administer a survey to their students can simply opt out. Moreover, a teacher may or may not heed on the feedback that the survey would bring into light.