Many high schools and almost all colleges and universities facilitate end-of-course evaluations that focus on the instructor and the scope of the subject matter covered. In many cases, such evaluations are mandatory under regional accreditation guidelines and must be archived as part of the on-going self-evaluation of the institution. Not all evaluation documents, however, are constructed to elicit objective responses.
Problematic Questions on Course Evaluations
Frequently, students are asked to grade the instructor. Questions such as, “how knowledgeable was the instructor in this course” and “was the instructor fair” are far too subjective and relative. For such questions, students often have no basis for comparison. Further, students anticipating a final grade lower than expected will respond with hostility, giving an unfair picture of the overall instruction. As one department chair told a new adjunct professor, “Don’t be affected by the atrocities you supposedly committed in your classes.”
Some institutions use standardized evaluations that address everything from text books to labs. Many classes, such as English, History, and Psychology, do not have labs. Invariably, however, students will attempt to answer lab-based questions. Whenever possible, course evaluations need to be tailored to the specific subject area.
On-Line Evaluations Work Best
It can be argued that evaluations given out to students during one of the last class sessions ensure a higher degree of compliance than on-line evaluations. Web based evaluations, however, provide a greater opportunity for detailed feedback and the results can be graphed and compared to other similar classes. Some institutions offer rewards for compliance. For example, institutions may offer book store credits or gift cards if a certain threshold of compliance is attained by individual classes.
Using Course Evaluations in Lower Grades
Ideally, good evaluation responses are tied to student maturity. This is not possible in any grade under the junior year in high school. Evaluations depend on higher level thinking, conceptual processing, and the ability to compare and contrast. Younger students generally are not able to fulfill these characteristics and will fall back on subjective responses.