Teacher Self-Ratings as a Validity Criterion for Student Evaluations

Abstract

Student ratings were validated against instructor self-ratings by assessing student—faculty agreement concerning day-to-day variability within courses. For 15 days, students and instructors in each of four courses made daily evaluations. Analysis showed that student ratings and instructor self-ratings were significantly correlated in three areas: material covered, instructor performance, and overall impressions of the success of the class. These results are consistent with those of other studies that have argued for the ability of students to provide valid course evaluations. In addition, they avoid some of the interpretive problems of other criterion measures that have been used to validate student evaluations.