Optimizing the Fairness of Student Evaluations: A Study of Correlations between Instructor Excellence, Study Production, Learning Production, and Expected Grades

Abstract

This article studies relationships between student ratings of instructor excellence and study production, learning production, and expected grades production. Although the findings of the study generally replicate similar relationships in the student evaluation literature, the findings of this research show that some teachers are rated relatively high as instructors but relatively low as producers of study and learning, whereas other teachers are rated relatively low as instructors but relatively high as producers of study and learning. These confounding relationships are partially due to the different teaching styles and methods of teachers. A Composite Indicator of Teaching Productivity is recommended as a means of increasing the fairness of student evaluations for all types of teachers.