Student Evaluations of Faculty Members: A Call for Analytical Prudence
Abstract
The authors of this article express concern about the use of parametric techniques to report faculty performance based on categorical Likert survey data gleaned from student responses to teaching evaluations. They argue that these surveys often violate primary statistical requirements for evaluative application. Therefore, the conclusions drawn from such evaluations may be invalid and even harmful to faculty members over time. The authors conclude that it is imprudent for university administrators to support questionable analysis methods simply because they have, on the surface, the appearance of rigor, or because the practice has become commonplace.
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