Can student evaluations be made more representative? Testing alternative strategies.
Saved in:
| Title: | Can student evaluations be made more representative? Testing alternative strategies. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | De Bruin, Erica (AUTHOR), Owen, Ann L. (AUTHOR), Wu, Stephen (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Studies in Higher Education. Feb2026, Vol. 51 Issue 2, p326-339. 14p. |
| Subjects: | Educational evaluation, Minority students, College teaching, Low-income students, Cohort analysis |
| Geographic Terms: | United States |
| Abstract: | Student evaluations are regularly used to assess the quality of faculty teaching. However, low response rates and unrepresentative student samples can bias the conclusions drawn from them. We conduct a randomized experiment at a selective liberal arts college in the United States to test whether student evaluations can be made more representative of the broader student population through changes to the prompt or timing at which feedback is solicited. We find that Pell Grant recipients, students with low GPAs, and those later in their college careers are less likely to complete teaching evaluations and to write more than three words in response to qualitative questions evaluating the instructor across all study conditions. Black, Hispanic, and multi-racial students are less likely than white students to complete traditional evaluations solicited at the end-of-semester. Providing an alternate prompt, which asks students to articulate their own criteria for effective teaching, increases the likelihood that students write more than three words and increases the total words written, conditional on responding. Delaying the solicitation of feedback until the following semester decreases overall response rates, particularly for seniors, but does so to a lesser degree for Black, Hispanic, and multi-racial students than white students, resulting in a more racially representative sample overall. This suggests a potential tradeoff between overall response rates and the representation of minority student voices in providing student feedback on teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Studies in Higher Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Login for full access.
|
|
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 1 |
|---|---|
| Header | DbId: pbh DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection An: 191349081 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
| IllustrationInfo | |
| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Can student evaluations be made more representative? Testing alternative strategies. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22De+Bruin%2C+Erica%22">De Bruin, Erica</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Owen%2C+Ann+L%2E%22">Owen, Ann L.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wu%2C+Stephen%22">Wu, Stephen</searchLink> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Studies+in+Higher+Education%22">Studies in Higher Education</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 51 Issue 2, p326-339. 14p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+evaluation%22">Educational evaluation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Minority+students%22">Minority students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+teaching%22">College teaching</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Low-income+students%22">Low-income students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cohort+analysis%22">Cohort analysis</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+States%22">United States</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Student evaluations are regularly used to assess the quality of faculty teaching. However, low response rates and unrepresentative student samples can bias the conclusions drawn from them. We conduct a randomized experiment at a selective liberal arts college in the United States to test whether student evaluations can be made more representative of the broader student population through changes to the prompt or timing at which feedback is solicited. We find that Pell Grant recipients, students with low GPAs, and those later in their college careers are less likely to complete teaching evaluations and to write more than three words in response to qualitative questions evaluating the instructor across all study conditions. Black, Hispanic, and multi-racial students are less likely than white students to complete traditional evaluations solicited at the end-of-semester. Providing an alternate prompt, which asks students to articulate their own criteria for effective teaching, increases the likelihood that students write more than three words and increases the total words written, conditional on responding. Delaying the solicitation of feedback until the following semester decreases overall response rates, particularly for seniors, but does so to a lesser degree for Black, Hispanic, and multi-racial students than white students, resulting in a more racially representative sample overall. This suggests a potential tradeoff between overall response rates and the representation of minority student voices in providing student feedback on teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Studies in Higher Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=191349081 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1080/03075079.2025.2467424 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 14 StartPage: 326 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Educational evaluation Type: general – SubjectFull: Minority students Type: general – SubjectFull: College teaching Type: general – SubjectFull: Low-income students Type: general – SubjectFull: Cohort analysis Type: general – SubjectFull: United States Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Can student evaluations be made more representative? Testing alternative strategies. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: De Bruin, Erica – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Owen, Ann L. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Wu, Stephen IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 02 Text: Feb2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 03075079 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 51 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Studies in Higher Education Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
