Why are Australian teachers afraid of being rated by their students?

Question

Why are Australian teachers afraid of being rated by their students?

Answer 1

because based on what i have read here the students couldn't string together a coherent sentence...

Answer 2

This has been tried at colleges, but....too big a risk the ratings only reflect popularity, and can be influenced by a few in the class (eg they can bully others into certain answers). No real benefit from ratings as students dont know if they are being taught properly as they don't know the subject they wont know what they've missed out. A teacher might be popular BECAUSE of not giving homework, or the one that is tough with marking but gives extra help to those who need it might be marked down.

So student ratings are not much use. Teachers can be afraid though that authorities might use them anyway, against teachers they disagree with.

Even assessments on things like class results can be unfair, as how well a class does depends partly on which school, where, and what knowledge the students came to the class with. There are schools in some areas, for example, where 80% of primary students are from recent migrant families, witrh hardly any English (could be 3 to 8 different nationalities in the one class). Comparing teaching outcomes in such a school against an all-Anglo class elsewhere would not be fair.