The Impact of Student Voices: Student Perspective Surveys

In all of your classes, teachers should have required you to complete a Student perspective Survey twice a year. You might have skimmed through the questions without much consideration. However, these questionnaires help the school gather information about how teachers can improve their classes and what they have done well. A lot goes into these surveys to ensure that students receive the best possible experience in the classroom.

Head of Upper School Brian Ledyard manages the Student Perspective Survey system. He commented on the purpose of the surveys, stating that they help “get a sense of how students are engaging in their classes and to help teachers and administrators better understand how to support student success.” With this insightful information, teachers can adjust their classroom environment appropriately, providing a better learning experience for the students. This way, students can have a voice in the classroom structure.

The process of distributing, analyzing, and then improving the surveys involves many steps. After department chairs analyze the previous cycle of surveys, they send feedback to Mr. Ledyard, who utilizes it to make adjustments to the surveys for the following cycle. Additionally, he manages the distribution of these surveys to teachers, who each have access to the Google Form so they can make adjustments if they wish to suit their class.

During the review process, teachers, department chairs, and Mr. Ledyard can all review student responses in their own time as editors of the Google Form. In addition to reviewing the responses individually, department chairs meet with teachers in their respective departments individually to analyze student perspective survey responses together. This way, they can more efficiently determine what aspects of the class can be improved or kept.

The administration implemented student perspective surveys a while ago, in the fall semester of the 2017-2018 school year. This time has given the school many opportunities to improve the system; as Mr. Ledyard says, “We’ve made many small changes and edits over the years.” Like in the past, Gilman is open to changing how student perspective surveys work. When asked how the administration could adjust the surveys, Mr. Ledyard responded, “I continue to be open to feedback from teachers and students regarding the process, the survey questions, and other aspects.”

Some students view student perspective surveys as a positive addition to improving classroom experiences. Jonny Li ‘25 says, “They give a space for students to share their true thoughts without fear of negative reception from teachers.” Conversely, others see a possibility for improvement in this system, with Adam Schutsky ‘24 commenting, “One, [student perspective surveys] should be optional. There are students [who] are genuinely impartial to the way their classes are run. Two, teachers should respond by giving an explanation of changes they made or plan to make based on the surveys. This will help students to feel that their feedback made a difference.” 

The intricacies and details of creating and distributing these student perspective surveys are intended to benefit the student body, and every change allows the school to do so. These efforts showcase how the administration and the faculty work to improve student learning in the classroom and enable students to be heard. As the policies and survey methods continue to change, students’ educational experiences evolve to fit their needs.