Distributional Properties of the Statistic of Online Student Evaluations the Mean Does Not Mean What You Think It Means

Autor/inn/en	Smith, Ben O.; White, Dustin R.; Wagner, Jamie; Kuzyk, Patricia; Prera, Alex
Titel	Distributional Properties of the Statistic of Online Student Evaluations the Mean Does Not Mean What You Think It Means
Quelle	In: Studies in Higher Education, 48 (2023) 11, S.1678-1695 (18 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Smith, Ben O.) ORCID (White, Dustin R.) ORCID (Wagner, Jamie)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0307-5079
DOI	10.1080/03075079.2023.2211079
Schlagwörter	Student Evaluation of Teacher Performance; Statistical Analysis; Response Rates (Questionnaires); Evaluation Methods; Online Surveys; Feedback (Response); College Students; College Faculty; COVID-19; Pandemics + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Statistische Analyse; Antwortkontrolle; Collegestudent; Fakultät
Abstract	Student Evaluations of Teaching (SETs) are an integral part of evaluating course outcomes. They are routinely used to evaluate teaching quality for the purposes of reappointment, promotion, and tenure (RPT), annual review, and the rehiring of adjunct faculty and lecturers. These evaluations are often based almost entirely on the mean or proportion of the ordinal overall score with no regard to statistical noise. This study examines the distribution of the statistic (mean or proportion) when SETs are administered online and in-person. Using non-parametric procedures, we show that the size of the 95% confidence interval of the statistic is a function of response rates. Prior to COVID-19, online administration of SETs resulted in significantly more uncertainty than in-person administration because the in-person response rates were higher. Due to a decrease in in-person response rates in the post-COVID vaccine period, both methods result in significant levels of uncertainty of the true statistic value. In classes of fewer than 30 students, the 95% confidence interval of the statistic is wide enough for instructors to be considered for a teaching award in one semester or below average in another semester, while holding teaching quality constant. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01