A comparison between student ratings and faculty self-ratings of instructional effectiveness

Objectives. This study compared the results of traditional student evaluations of classroom teaching with those of faculty self-evaluations and with the results of evaluations by smaller, representative subsets of students. Methods. Students enrolled in required courses completed teaching evaluations, and 31 faculty members self-evaluated their instruction using the same 12 evaluation items given to the students. Students used a 5-point, ordinal response scale, and faculty used a visual analog scale. Within each professional year, representative subsets of 24 students were selected. Results. There were no overall differences between the scores for faculty members' self-evaluations and the scores for evaluations by the whole class of students, with one exception: responses to the evaluation item "the pace of presentation." At the level of individual instruction, there was no significant difference between responses given by faculty members on self-evaluations and those given by whole-class ratings for a mean of 7.31 items. There were no differences between the overall ratings given by the whole class and those given by a subset of students from that class for 91.7% of the instruction sessions. Conclusion. Faculty self-evaluations and evaluation by representative subsets of students can enhance the evaluation of faculty teaching.