Student evaluation of teaching ratings are “unrelated to student learning”

Bob Uttl (Mount Royal U), Carmela A White (Uni British Columbia) and Daniela Wong Gonzalez (Mount Royal U)  challenge the, “widespread belief that students learn more from highly rated professors.”

They analysed data in studies which they argue are the basis of the belief and concluded results were, “an artefact of small sample sized studies and publication bias.”

In contrast, they suggest studies with large sample-sizes “showed no or only minimal correlation between SET ratings and learnings.”

“These findings suggest that institutions focused on student learning and career success may want to abandon SET ratings as a measure of faculty’s teaching effectiveness,” they state.

Deans with a little list of teaching staff who they think would not be missed need to read this.