How useful are the views of public school students about their teachers？ Quite useful,

How useful are the views of public school students about their teachers？

Quite useful, according to preliminary results released on Friday from a research project that is intended to find new ways of distinguishing good teachers from bad.

Teachers whose students described them as skillful at maintaining classroom order, at focusing their instruction and at helping their charges learn from their mistakes are often the same teachers whose students learn the most in the course of a year, as measured by gains on standardized test scores, according to a progress report on the research.

Financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the two-year project involves scores of social scientists and some 3,000 teachers and their students in districts such as New York and Pittsburgh.

Statisticians began the effort last year by ranking all the teachers using a statistical method known as value-added modeling, which calculates how much each teacher has helped students learn based on changes in test scores from year to year.

Thousands of students have filled out confidential questionnaires(秘密调查问卷)about the learning environment that their teachers create. After comparing the students ratings with teachers value-added scores, researchers have concluded that there is quite a bit of agreement.

Classrooms where a majority of students said they agreed with the statement, "Our class stays busy and doesnt waste time," tended to be led by teachers with high value-added scores, the report said.

The same was true for teachers whose students agreed with the statement, "In this class, we learn to correct our mistakes."

Few of the nations 15,000 public school districts systematically question students about their classroom experiences, in contrast to American colleges, many of which collect annual student evaluations to improve instruction, Dr Ferguson said.

Until recently, teacher evaluations were little more than a formality(形式)in most school systems, with the vast majority of instructors getting top ratings, often based on a principals superficial impressions.

But now some 20 states are overhauling their evaluation systems, and many policymakers have been asking the Gates Foundation for suggestions on what measures of teacher effectiveness to use, said Vicki L. Phillips, a director of education at the foundation.

One notable early finding, Ms Phillips said, is that teachers who incessantly(不停地)drill their students to prepare for standardised tests tend to have lower value-added learning gains than those who simply work their way methodically through the key concepts of literacy and mathematics.

What is said about teachers rated as good at keeping their classes in order？

A．Their students gain more in test scores.

B．Their classes stay busy and don"t waste time.

C．Their students learn fastest during a semester.

D．They help students learn to correct their mistakes.