Student Evaluations: Are They Valid Measures of Course Effectiveness?

Abstract

Objectives. This study was designed to assess the relationship among students' grade expectations, actual grades, and evaluations of courses. Methods. A total of 5,399 individual student evaluations from 138 course offerings taught over 4 academic years were compiled and analyzed. In addition to questions evaluating the course effectiveness, the instrument included a query of the grade the student expected to receive in the course. Results. In this study, the students' grade expectations for a course had a strong positive correlation with the mean course evaluation score (P < 0.001, Pearson's correlation coefficient was 0.508). Conclusions. The validity of using students' course evaluations as the primary measure of teaching performance for faculty performance reviews, recognizing and rewarding excellence in teaching, promotion, and tenure considerations, and other purposes is questionable.

Factors That Influence Student Completion of Course and Faculty Evaluations

“…1,2 Colleges and schools of pharmacy also rely on student evaluations in their assessment process. In a 2009 study by Barnett and colleagues, 100% of the 89 colleges and schools of pharmacy surveyed applied student evaluations in both the classroom and practice experiences, with only 66% applying both student and peer evaluations to their assessment process.…”

“…3 Student ratings of courses and faculty are a reliable and useful method of evaluating teaching and course effectiveness. 2,4,5 Student evaluations are as reliable as peer evaluations, provided that response rates are good. 5 Therefore, completion of student course evaluations is imperative in evaluating curricular trends and teaching effectiveness, particularly if no other assessment methods are performed.…”

“…Higher response rates and higher evaluation scores are routinely seen in courses wherein students were highly motivated and had high grade expectations. 2,6 Students were more likely to respond if they knew how their evaluations would be used and what decisions their responses would influence. 2,7,8 Compared with paper surveys, online evaluations also have been associated with increased response rates.…”

“…2,6 Students were more likely to respond if they knew how their evaluations would be used and what decisions their responses would influence. 2,7,8 Compared with paper surveys, online evaluations also have been associated with increased response rates. 3,7,9 Incentive-driven or mandatory course and faculty evaluations result in the highest response rates but are not always feasible.…”

Academic Entitlement in Pharmacy Education

“…The validity of student evaluations must be balanced with several factors, including mean peer or unit scores, response rates, trends or consistent data patterns, and the balance of objective vs subjective comments. 33 Given the inherent limitations of student evaluations, administrators should be cautious in using them as the sole measure of effectiveness in teaching. Student evaluations should be only one of several data points collected by administrators.…”