University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center

The literature on student evaluations of teaching is extensive, covering over 80 years and encompassing over 2000 published papers. Although there are some ambiguous and/or contradictory studies, the research suggests that well-designed and tested evaluation forms are both reliable and valid. And, importantly, student ratings can support instructional improvement efforts, particularly when combined with other means of assessment.

Regardless of whether you are interested in mid-semester feedback or end-of-course evaluation data, following these six basic steps will help you collect the most meaningful data, analyze it, and implement classroom changes.

Develop an assessment plan for your course
An assessment plan is an essential component of good course design. It helps ensure that assessment of student learning is frequent, varied, and, most importantly, aligned with course goals. It also help you, the instructor, learn more about your own teaching as well as the learning environment you've created. For this second purpose, a number of different options exist, each of which generate slightly different information.

Although the primary purpose for student perception data collected through mid-term and end-of-course evaluations is for course improvement, the two differ slightly. End-of-course evaluation data is a type of summative assessment. Though helpful "next time," summative assessments typically happen too far down the learning path to provide information at the classroom level and to make instructional adjustments and interventions during the learning process. In contrast, mid-term feedback is a type of formative assessment. Formative assessments provide information needed to adjust teaching and learning while they are happening. Research has shown that the benefits of collecting mid-term feedback is especially effective when it is part of a faculty development program that includes personal consultation.

Benefit of Mid-term Evals

Instructor Perspective: "Engaging Evaluations: Helping Students Consider Their Learning" by Cassandra Fraser

Instructor Perspective: "Using a Mid-Term Evaluation to Give Students Responsibility for the Course" by Nancy Loevinger

[Learn more about both feedback mechanisms.]

The Teaching Analysis Poll (TAP) is a mid-semester feedback technique which involves having a trained TRC staff member poll your students about their perceptions of the course. This technique is a great way to find out what the majority of your students think most helps and impedes their learning in your course. A TAP also elicits suggestions for improving their overall learning experience. Best of all, you can take advantage of the information right now - not next semester.

Instructor Perspective: "TAPs as a Continuous Improvement Tool" by Jennifer Flynn

[Learn more about TAPs and how to schedule one.]

A videotape analysis provides an objective view of your course—a record from which you can analyze your teaching. In consultation with a trained TRC staff member, you can explore nagging questions about technique or explore successes and problems with innovative approaches.

[Learn more about Videotape Analysis and how to schedule one.]

An in-class observation is an effective way to get objective, formative feedback on your teaching or course. The TRC faculty or graduate consultant who observes your class will work with you to discover what aspects of the course you are most interested in analyzing and tailor the observation and consultation to fit.

[Learn more about In-Class Observation and how to schedule one.]

Prepare to collect student evaluation data
Spending a little time up front thinking about the questions you're interested in learning more about and working with your students to help them better understand the importance of contributing their constructive feedback will help you make best use of the student evaluation data.

While the seed questions on well-designed mid- and end-of-course student evaluation forms will generate reliable and valid information, feedback is sometimes too general to allow you to identify specific aspects of your course which most positively and negatively affect the learning environment. Augmenting the standard set of questions with your own course-specific, goal-focused questions can lead to better and more precise data.

[COMING SOON-Learn more about authoring your own evaluation questions.]

Collect student feedback
These days, collecting mid-term feedback and end-of-course evaluation data is relatively straightforward. The task is made particularly easy when using one of UVa's technology-based solutions.

The eTAP (electronic Teaching Analysis Poll) is a simple solution for collecting mid-semester feedback from your students. To use the eTAP, simply add the Test & Quizzes feature to your courses’ UVaCollab sites, import the eTAP survey, and publish it, and then invite your students to participate. We suggest giving them 4-7 days to complete the eTAP. Once the feedback period closes, you’ll immediately be able to analyze the data.

[See detailed instructions on collecting mid-term feedback.]

Most courses at the University are included in the Course Evaluation system (except for Darden, Law, and Medicine courses). School and/or departmental administrators have some control over which courses in their area participate by setting parameters such as the minimum enrollment threshold (courses with very low enrollments may be excluded due to this) or by explicitly excluding certain courses.

Instructors of eligible courses are sent an email message when their courses have been loaded into the system and are ready for them to add their own questions. The Evaluation Monitor box (found by clicking the Course Evaluations tool on the My Workspace tab of UVaCollab, then the course link) contains the dates/times during which instructors may add their own questions and the dates/times during which students can submit evaluations.

[See detailed instructions on collecting end-of-course evaluation data.]

Prepare to read the feedback
Sifting through the noise inherent in student perception data is not always easy, especially since we're somewhat hardwired to focus (and dwell) on negative comments and lower-than-expected numbers. Developing a strategy to overcome your initial reaction to your student evaluation data will help you uncover the trends which point to meaningful course improvements.

Analyze the data
While student perception data can be meaningful and ultimately useful in improving your instruction and future iterations of the course, care must be taken to determine the significance and validity of the data. Here are some general principles and guidelines to help you get the most out of the numerical data and written comments reported on evaluations.

It’s easy—and tempting—to judge the success of a course just from the numerical data typically generated from student evaluations. The numbers don’t lie—right? While the data can be meaningful and ultimately useful in improving your instruction and future iterations of the course, care must be taken to determine the significance and validity of the data.

[Learn general principles and guidelines to help you get the most out of the numerical data reported on evaluations.]

Can written comments on student evaluations provide useful information about the quality of an instructor’s teaching and the quality of students’ learning? Many instructors argue that written comments are random and often contradictory. Who wouldn't when it’s not uncommon to have some students write, “I learned so much in this class. This is the best course I’ve taken,” while others—in the same class—claim, “This course is terrible. I didn't learn a thing.” Research indicates, however, that written comments do correlate well with numerical data, both in terms of frequency and intensity. One might suggest, then, that qualitative comments do indeed impart information about teaching and learning. Unfortunately, written comments don’t arrive packaged as neatly as numerical data, nor do they contain the statistical analysis necessary to weight each comment appropriately.

[To get at the information and to lend it context, you can employ these relatively simple techniques.]

Respond to student feedback
Unlike end-of-course evaluations, which are collected after the course is over, there is opportunity to respond to student feedback with all mid-term feedback techniques. As soon as possible, ideally the next class session following the close of the evaluation period, respond in-person to the students. Thank them for their candid feedback, let them know the 2-3 things you're willing to change to improve the learning environment—as well as those things which might have surfaced from student feedback but are already pedagogically sound—and then follow through.

Aleamoni, L.M. “Student Rating Myths versus Research Facts from 1924-1998. “ Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education 13 (1999): 153-156.

Arreola, R. A. Developing a Comprehensive Evaluation System. Bolton, MA: Anker, 2000.

Cashin, W. E. “Student Ratings of Teaching: The Research Revisited.” IDEA Paper 32 (1995).

Cohen, P. A. Effectiveness of student-rating feedback for improving college instruction: A meta-analysis of findings. Research in Higher Education, 13 (1980): 321–341.

Theall M. and Jennifer Franklin. “Using Student Ratings for Teaching Improvement.” New Directions for Teaching and Learning 48 (1991): 83-96.

Theall, M., P. A. Abrami, and L. Mets, eds. “The Student Ratings Debate. Are they Valid? How Can We Best Use Them?” New Directions for Institutional Research 109 (2001).