Should I look at student evaluations when comparing teaching quality?
Yes. Student evaluations can be useful when comparing teaching quality, but they mainly reflect students’ perceptions and satisfaction rather than measuring educational effectiveness directly. They can be influenced by course difficulty, grading strictness, class size, and response rate, so they should be considered alongside the syllabus, course content, learning objectives, and, where available, other forms of evaluation.
Key points
- They can provide insight into students’ views of clarity, support, and the classroom experience.
- Looking at written comments and patterns across several years can give a more balanced picture than relying on a single score.
- Avoid ranking courses or instructors without considering differences in subject, course type, and student group.
Things to check
- Evaluation questions, timing, response rates, and publication practices vary by university, faculty, and course; check the official information to understand how the data were collected and whether comparisons are appropriate.