Comparison of two formats for student evaluation of teacher effectiveness

CONTEXT: Student evaluation of faculty is an essential part of the academic process. The study was designed to compare two formats of student evaluation of teachers (SETs) with a view to determine the method with minimum bias. AIMS: To compare student ratings of teacher effectiveness obtained from two different SET formats and determine factors contributing to the student bias. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Faculty members of first professional were evaluated by MBBS students using a SET-I questionnaire already in use. Faculty perceived types of bias were documented using a separate semi-structured questionnaire. Based on this, a second SET-II questionnaire with Likert scale was designed and filled out by the same students as before. The faculty was apprised of the scores granted to them, and their acceptance of the preferred SET format was determined with the help of another questionnaire. RESULTS: Ratings obtained from 71 students using both the SET-I and SET-II formats showed no difference. However, the level of students satisfaction with teacher effectiveness, compared with the total teacher score, indicated that when a score of the faculty was below 50%, the level of students satisfaction reduced considerably. The major causes of perceived negative bias identified were strictness, seniority, gender, classes taken, less interest in the subject, and lower student grades. SET-II was preferred by faculty but didn′t eliminate all bias factors. CONCLUSIONS: Although it was not possible to remove all causes of bias from the modified student questionnaire, the faculty perception of bias affecting the students rating seems to be largely ungrounded as there was no difference between the scores obtained.