Student Evaluations of Instruction in Higher Education

1976

Two types of student response inventories for appraising instruction, the Student Instruction Report (SIR) and the Inventory of Student Perceptions of Instruction (ISPI) were administered to 554 students in 30 classes at two Georgia colleges. Mean responses to items were used in principal components analyses with varimax rotation. The two instruments were then administered to 525 students in 31 English classes having a common final examination. Results of multiple regression analyses produced a significant multiple correlation with one instrument and self-reported cumulative grade point averages, with end-of-course grades in English as the criterion variable. Results of this study suggest that student appraisal of college instruction using SIR in conjunction with self-reported grade point averages are of some help in predicting end-of-course final examination scores. If the effectiveness of an instructor is measured in terms of end-of-course achievement of his class, then college administrators should proceed with caution in using student ratings to gauge instructor effectiveness. Moreover, results of this study lend some support to the use of instruments developed empirically over those developed rationally. (Author/BW) * * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). EDRS is not * responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original.

American Psychologist, 1997

Editor's note. Anthony G. Greenwald served as action editor for this Current Issues section.

Higher Education Evaluation and Development

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that common method variance, specifically single-source bias, threatens the validity of a university-created student assessment of instructor instrument, suggesting that decisions made from these assessments are inherently flawed or skewed. Single-source bias leads to generalizations about assessments that might influence the ability of raters to separate multiple behaviors of an instructor. Design/methodology/approach Exploratory factor analysis, nested confirmatory factor analysis and within-and-between analysis are used to assess a university-developed, proprietary student assessment of instructor instrument to determine whether a hypothesized factor structure is identifiable. The instrument was developed over a three-year period by a university-mandated committee. Findings Findings suggest that common method variance, specifically single-source bias, resulted in the inability to identify hypothesized constructs statistically. A...

New Directions for Higher Education, 2016

The Assessment, Evaluation, and Research (AER) competency area focuses on the ability to design, conduct, critique, and use various AER methodologies and the results obtained from them; to utilize AER processes and the results obtained from them to inform practice; and to shape the political and ethical climate surrounding AER processes and uses in higher education. One should be able to: Basic  Differentiate among assessment, program review, evaluation, planning, and research as well as the methodologies appropriate to each.  Select AER methodologies, designs, and tools that fit with research and evaluation questions and with assessment and review purposes.  Facilitate appropriate data collection for system/department-wide assessment and evaluation efforts using up-to-datecurrent technology and methods.  Effectively articulate, interpret, and apply results of assessment, evaluation, and research reports and studies, including professional literature.  Assess the legitimacy, trustworthiness, and/or validity of studies of various methodological designs (qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, among others).  Consider the strengths and limitations of various methodological AER approaches in the application of findings to practice in diverse institutional settings and with diverse student populations.  Explain the necessity to follow institutional and divisional procedures and policies (e.g., IRB approval, informed consent) with regard to ethical assessment, evaluation, and other research activities.  Ensure that all communications of AER results are accurate, responsible, and effective.  Identify the political and educational sensitivity of raw and partially processed data and AER results, handling them with appropriate confidentiality and deference to organizational hierarchies.  Design program and learning outcomes that are appropriately clear, specific, and measureable, that are informed by theoretical frameworks such as Bloom's taxonomy, and that align with organizational outcomes, goals, and values.  Explain to students and colleagues the relationship of AER processes to learning outcomes and goals. Intermediate  Design ongoing and periodic data collection efforts such that they are sustainable, rigorous, as unobtrusive as possible, and technologically current.  Effectively manage, align, and guide the utilization of AER reports and

This work investigates the validity of student evaluations as a teaching performance tool and determines the factors that affect the reliability of evaluation which is considered as a valuable to measure the quality of education. This study concentrates on the Hashemite University as a representative of the Jordanian universities. It employs students’ assessment from two faculties; the faculty of Economics and the faculty of Administrative Sciences as the study sample carried out by the Academic Center for Quality Assurance at the Hashemite University. This study covers four consecutive semesters in the academic years of 2011/2012 and 2012/2013. The students’ assessment of the effectiveness of the teaching process is performed through a standard questionnaire. This study examines the relationships between rank of faculty members, students’ gender, and their GPAand the overall results of student assessments. We found that the impact of the rank of the faculty member on the evaluation results is insignificant, whereas there is a direct correlation between the student's GPA and the evaluation of the faculty member. Moreover, the study revealed that there is a variationbetween male and female students as maleresponses are more inclined to either exaggerate or understate

Student ratings of instruction are widely practiced in universities. They have been the subject of several validity studies with much of the research focusing on traditional evidence of validity. However, fewer studies have been devoted to consequential validity of student ratings. This study examined consequential validity of student ratings by investigating evidence on 'consequences' and 'utility' of student ratings regarding the use for administrative purposes. The population comprised administrators from 15 faculties of a major research university. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, multiple group analysis, and Pearson's product moment correlation analysis. The paper's uncovering of administrators' responsiveness to student ratings, and the identification of influenced dimensions of administrative practices, can make useful contributions to the literature on student ratings. The findings improved and supported validity of the student ratings and provided the university with reliable evidence for justifying the use of student ratings for administrative purposes. Also, the findings showed that higher education administrators regarded 'instructor's efforts in student learning enhancement' as the most useful type of information provided by students.

Research in Higher Education, 1980

Results are presented of a survey of facuity members concerning their observations and opinions about the effects of student evaluation of instruction in a university where this practice had been a mandatory requirement for personnel evaiuation purposes for several years The respondents reported a definite reduction in morale and job satisfaction, changes in various instructional practices--mainJy reduced course work demands on students and the occurrence of counterproductive actions as a result of this policy Only limited expectations of improved ratings were indicated There was also a clear division of opinion about the use of SEI ratings for personnel decisions that corresponded mainly with judgments about the validity of the ratings students provide Over the past decade there has been a dramatic upsurge in the collection and use of student evaluation of instruction in higher education

School Psychology

The SSIS SEL Brief Scales-Student Form (SSIS SELb-S) was developed to create an efficient assessment of students' social and emotional learning (SEL). Using item response theory with ratings from 800 students in Grades 3-12 from the standardization sample, 20 items were selected from the full-length SSIS SEL Rating Form-Student to maximize score information and rating efficiency. After identifying items for the SSIS SELb-S, we conducted several reliability and validity analyses. These analyses provided initial support for the use of the SSIS SELb-S for low-stakes decision making contexts. As such, the SSIS SELb-S holds promise for incorporating the perspectives of students ages 8-18 into assessments of their SEL competencies. Impact and Implications There is increasing need for efficient assessments targeting students' social and emotional learning (SEL) competencies to support school-based SEL programming. To address this need, the current study used advanced psychometric approaches to develop the SSIS SEL Brief Scales-Student Form, a brief version of the prominent SSIS SEL Rating Form-Student. The resulting measure holds promise to extend and support SEL programming and incorporate students' self-perceptions into the SEL assessment and intervention process.

Tci, 2014