Students should be allowed to evaluate and criticize their teachers

IELTS Writing Task 2 with sample answer.

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Some people believe that students should be allowed to evaluate and criticize their teachers to improve the quality of education. Others think it is disrespectful to teacher. 

Discuss both views, give your opinion and include relevant examples.

Write at least 250 words.


Sample Answer:

How teachers’ performance should be assessed has sparked a heated debate among the educationists. Some educators thinks that the students ought to be allowed to appraise the teacher so as to elevate the quality of pedagogy, while others, on the other hand, believe that it would be discourteous to the teachers. In my opinion, I regard teachers’ evaluation by the pupil as insulting to the teacher.

The proponents of teacher assessment based on student feedback argue that more academic excellence could be achieved if the teachers are assessed by the students. Student evaluations can help the teachers improve. For example, when students will be permitted to rate the performance of a teacher based on a given questionnaire at the end of a term, the teacher, then, would be able to know his pitfall associated with his teaching style, which in turn help him develop his teaching method. In addition, the authority can make a right decision when it comes to reward the teachers that ultimately inspire them to devise the best methodology to convey their ideas to the pupils.

However, others express their disappointment with the teacher evaluation by the students. They deem it as a discourteous deed. They argue that teaching is not like other professions. Teachers are not service provider or students are not their clients. Respect is the bedrock of teacher-student relationship. The students can take advantage of teacher evaluation by them, which by consequence will harm the relationship. For instance, students may exploit the questionnaire form as a space to vent their frustration. So, there is a greater chance of unfair judgment, and the quality of education may deteriorate as a consequence of biased evaluation.

In conclusion, students’ rate on teachers’ performance cannot improve the quality of teaching, I believe. This is because, students are not matured, experienced enough to judge the teachers objectively. Although the evaluation may improve teaching quality to some extent for a while, students’ assessment can lead to teacher being targeted unfairly that may hinder teaching and learning in the long run.