For all the complaints about American education, one area has held up pretty well against scrutiny: American universities. So, why haven’t high schools around the country adopt some of the practices used in the nation’s universities? One custom in particular that I have in mind is a course evaluation.

While I am aware that high school students often lack the level of maturity of college students, so their evaluations may be less meaningful, I still think that they would be of practical use. Most of the time in high school, students get very little input when it comes to their curriculum.

Evaluations would change that.

An anonymous evaluation at regular time intervals would let teachers learn about the concerns of their students. There are times when students feel that the class may be unfair or moving too quickly, but would not tell their teacher directly. When students feel that way, it hurts both their performance and attitude in the classroom. Teachers should at least be able to acknowledge these concerns.

A teacher evaluation would be the most significant way students can influence the school for themselves – it more specifically addresses their personal concerns than any currently existing high school practice.