Uses and Misuses of Student Evaluations of Teaching

Abstract

Student evaluations of teaching are among the most accepted and important indicators of college teachers’ performance. However, faculty and administrators can overinterpret small variations in mean teaching evaluations. The current research examined the effect of including statistical information on the interpretation of teaching evaluations. Study 1 (N = 121) showed that faculty members interpreted small differences between mean course evaluations even when confidence intervals and statistical tests indicated the absence of meaningful differences. Study 2 (N = 183) showed that differences labeled as nonsignificant still influenced perceptions of teaching qualifications and teaching ability. The results suggest the need for increased emphasis on the use of statistics when presenting and interpreting teaching evaluation data.