This study builds on and contributes to work about the use of student evaluation of teacher performance. Although many studies have examined multiple forms of teacher evaluation, not much has been written about high school teachers’ perception of the usefulness of evaluations performed anonymously by students. This article provides additional insight by exploring factors contributing to Norwegian high school teachers’ perceptions of the usefulness of evaluations. Structural equation modelling indicates that perceptions of the developmental purposes of the evaluation process and of clear communication from the school leadership, as well as acknowledgement of the students’ ability to evaluate, are associated with teachers’ perceptions of the usefulness of the evaluation. Student ratings are often used for administrative purposes and tend to be underutilized for developmental purposes. Our findings suggest that feedback from student ratings can be useful in improving teaching practices by providing high school teachers with constructive feedback with which to improve the quality of their teaching.

Keywords
Teacher evaluation; Student ratings of teacher performance; Teaching evaluation; Teacher appraisal; Professional development