No. 2: I figure I should pay homage to my many professors who have to deal with these tedious things. I wish I could say that teacher evaluations are just problems at other universities and colleges, but truth be told, teacher evaluations are B.S.

Many students think these are just little surveys they fill out so the teacher can look at them and improve upon his or her teaching skills; just a few remarks here and there, a few suggestions about certain chapters or more emphasis on certain topics. It turns out that many of these evaluations are used in order to determine qualifications for tenure. Although teacher evaluations can affect tenured professors, professors who are untenured or adjuncts that work on a yearly basis are the most susceptible to the psychological and economic pressures of teacher evaluations.

There is an inherent moral hazard that occurs when you mix teacher evaluations and tenure qualification. A study done by Read, Rama and Raghunandan in 2001 demonstrates that many teachers hold the impression that teacher evaluations account for over 50 percent of the weight in decisions affecting tenure and promotions. Many professors have confessed, after receiving low scores on their evaluations, that they have consciously lowered standards and made the course easier. Andrei Toom, a Russian math instructor, has confessed in a scholarly journal that the less one teaches, the less trouble one gets from students and administrators.

In 1980, James Ryan conducted a study on the effects of mandatory numerical-evaluation programs on the rigor of classroom instruction on a campus. Twenty-two percent of instructors admitted to reducing the amount of material covered as opposed to the seven percent who increased the amount of material covered. Forty percent of instructors admitted to making courses and exams easier as opposed to the nine percent who said they made their courses harder.

There may be less conscious actions of reducing teaching standards by changing essay tests into multiple-choice tests (which is an atrocity to any decent philosophy class), or by using fewer or diluted texts, assigning fewer papers or even lowering the grading standards.

There are even studies done that suggest that teacher evaluations do not even track teaching effectiveness. A study done by Greenwald and Gilmore in 1997 showed that teachers with lax grading policies were given better scores than professors who were more demanding. A study done by Williams and Ceci in 1997 showed that teacher evaluations merely track the enthusiasm of professors. A study done by Ambady and Rosenthal in 1993 showed that students have already determined a teacher’s effectiveness within the first 30 seconds of exposure. Watkins did a study that showed that students would score higher for professors who were more attractive. A study done by Aleamoni in 1989 showed that the more students in the class taking the course as a requirement (i.e. GEC courses), the lower the overall score. Moreover, freshmen tended to rate lower then sophomores, sophomores lower than juniors and so on.

Many professors complain that the scores and comments are wildly opposing and so do not serve in giving intelligible critique. “Too much reading. Not enough sources. Too much homework. Not enough practice problems. Easy to understand. Difficult to understand.” The fact is there are too many factors that have nothing to do with teaching effectiveness that go into teacher evaluations.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that some students don’t care about learning, bro. Some students are just looking for a degree to flaunt around without the work and competence required in receiving that degree. As Andrei Toom put it, “They seem to think that they buy grades and pay for them by learning. And then try to pay as little as possible!”

Perhaps we are catering to students who don’t care about being challenged, who complain about the rigors of higher education, which brings me to the fallacy of the day: Argumentum ad Misericordiam. This fallacy is committed when somebody appeals to pity for the sake of a conclusion to be accepted. For instance, “I’m sorry I couldn’t get my paper in on time because I’ve been under a lot of stress.” Why are these people even in college?

Ken Ueda is a senior math, physics and philosophy major. He can be reached for contact at [email protected].