A historic change is taking place in higher education. Professors are being held responsible as never before for how well they serve students. It has become as common in colleges and universities for students to grade professors as for professors to grade students.

In fact, student ratings have become the most widely used and, in many cases, the only source of information on teaching effectiveness. In comparing three studies of the same 600 four-year colleges, it was found that the number of colleges using student ratings to evaluate teachers had climbed from 29 per cent to 68 per cent. No other method of evaluation approached that degree of usage, and other studies have found similar results.

One reason that student evaluations of teachers have become so popular is that they are easy to administer and to score. But they also are easy to abuse. If they are to shed meaningful light on teacher’s performance, the rating must be used in a way that reflects at least some of what were learnt about them from research and from experience.

Research and experience have shown us, for example, that student ratings should never be the only basis for evaluating teaching effectiveness. There is much more to teaching than what is evaluated on student rating forms. When ratings are used, we know that students should not be expected to judge whether the materials used in a course are up to date or how well the teacher knows the subject matter of the course. These judgments require professional background and are best left to the professor’s colleagues. On the other hand, students should be asked to estimate what they have learned in a course, and to report on such things as a professor’s ability to communicate at the student’s level, professional behavior in the classroom, relationship with students, and ability to arouse interest in the subject.