Hello Parents,
Before Thanksgiving I sent each student’s parents/guardians an email inviting them to take an anonymous survey. I promised to provide the results later in the year. Here are the results.
This year just under 58% (38/65) of parents responded. Most survey companies would be thrilled with a 58% survey return, but this response rate was the 2nd lowest in my 14 years of teaching. Due to the low response rate, the data may not reflect a true consensus. Thank you to all who provided feedback. If you did not respond to the survey, you are always welcome to provide feedback through email. If you’d like your feedback to remain anonymous, just have an envelope placed in my mailbox at school.
Based on survey responses:
1. Most respondents do not use the wiki to find class information. The link to my wiki is. I provide the link at the bottom of each email and on my Schoology page.
2. 89% of respondents believe my emails are informative while another 8% provided a neutral response and one respondent didn’t reply.
3. 97% of respondents believe my email communication is professional with one respondent declining to respond.
4. All respondents believe they can communicate openly with me about their student.
5. All, but one, respondent believes their students are taught at an appropriate level. If you ever have a concern about your child’s needs, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
6. 97% of respondents believe that I want their child to succeed and that I have their best interests in mind with one respondent providing a neutral response.
7. 89% of respondents believe their child is making significant progress. 4 respondents (11%) provided a neutral rating.
8. 84% of respondents believe their student is comfortable in my class while 4 respondents provided a neutral response. There were two respondents who stated their students were not comfortable in my class. While I strive to make every student feel comfortable, sometimes I don’t succeed. However, there wasn’t any additional feedback so I’m uncertain how to address the issue. In the anonymous student surveys, most students provide positive feedback, but if one student isn’t comfortable I understand it doesn’t matter that all other students are comfortable.
Here are a few points that come up from the open ended responses.
1. A couple respondents mentioned that practice problems on the wiki, and review problems, don’t mirror the test questions. Many of the questions on the wiki, and the review, do mirror the questions on the test, but a lot do not. This is intentional. Students should be able to apply the math they learn under a multitude of circumstances. Tests are not designed to see if students can do math under certain, very recognizable, formats. Assessments cover the concepts covered in class. If your students are mastering the concepts, they should be able to apply them in various formats. Having said that, no test has strayed far from what we do in class.
2. Much like the student surveys, I get conflicting requests. Some respondents said that there was too much homework, while others said there wasn’t enough homework. Please feel free to contact me, if you believe your student’s needs aren’t being met.
3. A respondent asked for more feedback from class. By now all parents should’ve gotten a brief progress report from me. I also write periodic Numerical News articles. You are always welcome to contact me with specific student questions.
Thank you all for your feedback. You are welcome to contact me anytime with additional questions, concerns, and feedback. If you still want the feedback to remain anonymous, you can type up a note and have it placed in my school mailbox.