Student Voices: Improving the Quality of Course Evaluations.(Statistical Data Included)

Abstract

This article explains one school's efforts at redesigning student evaluations of courses and suggests appropriate uses of student evaluations for improvement of instruction.

Introduction

In many colleges and universities, a common assessment instrument that is used to evaluate a course is a student survey at the end of the semester. One purpose of this survey is to allow students to provide feedback that may be used to improve instruction in future courses (Brookhart, 1999; Angelo & Cross, 1993; Boyd, 1989). Since faculty often teach a different course the next semester, the information that is acquired at the end of a course may not be viewed as useful in the refinement of the next course. Additionally, if the selection of the assessment instrument is completed by the institution, the given questions may not be recognized as relevant to the instructional needs of the course instructor. Poor evaluations are also often explained by the respective instructor as being a result of unmotivated students, heavy teaching loads, or invalid rating systems (Lucus, 1999). In addition, faculty have (Coburn, 1984) argued that students lack the technical expertise to evaluate course content or instructional style. This, they explain, may result in an overemphasis on the evaluation of the teachers' popularity rather than their teaching ability. Concerns have also been raised that an overemphasis on course evaluations results in grade inflation and a reduction in amount of material that is covered in a given course (Wilson, 1998).

A great deal of research has been completed that examines the validity and reliability of student course evaluations. Cashin (1995) has reported that more than 1500 articles and books have been written that address the development, design, and appropriateness of student evaluations. Based on these resources, he determined that well-designed course evaluations can provide valid and reliable results. Other researchers have provided further support for this claim (e.g., Brookhart, 1999; Peterson & Kauchak, 1982; Coburn, 1984). Researchers (Brookhart, 1999; Scriven, 1995; Howard & Maxwell, 1980) have also found that higher grades do not necessarily result in higher course evaluations. In other words, many of the concerns that have been raised with respect to course evaluations appear to be unfounded. A well-designed student evaluation system can produce valid and reliable results.

The purpose of this article is to describe how the Mathematical and Computer (MCS) department at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) has redesigned the student evaluation system. The changes were made with the purpose of improving the quality and usefulness of the information that is collected. Additionally, this article will describe how faculty members are encouraged to consider student feedback for instructional improvement purposes.

Previous Student Evaluation System