10.2190/TG7W-MK7A-KNLB-2WAD TG7WMK7AKNLB2WAD 7 Student Evaluation of Instruction: Objective Evidence and Decision Making 73 86 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 TG7WMK7AKNLB2WAD.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=TG7WMK7AKNLB2WAD 1 David A. Dilts Hedayeh Samavati Mashalah Rahnama Moghadam Lawrence J. Haber Indiana University, Fort Wayne This article examines student attitudes as a possible source of contamination of evidence gathered from student evaluation of instruction questionnaires. A student attitude survey instrument was administered simultaneously with a student evaluation of instruction instrument for undergraduate students and for graduate students at three different midwestern universities. The results demonstrate that 13 percent of the variation in undergraduate student appraisals of instruction is explained by student attitudes such as personal dislike for an instructor, racism or sexism. Graduate students' appraisals of instructional effectiveness are not correlated with inappropriate attitudes. These findings suggest that decision making by undergraduate students concerning the quality of instruction they received are significantly affected by inappropriate attitudes, thereby creating suspicion concerning the objectivity of undergraduate student evaluators. In turn, academic decision makers must exercise care in interpreting evidence gathered using student evaluation questionnaires administered in undergraduate classes. There is no evidence that graduate students' evaluation should be regarded by academic administrators with equal suspicion. H. I. Mesak and L. R. Jauch, Faculty Performance Evaluation: Modeling to Improve Personnel Decisions, Decision Sciences, 22, pp. 1142-1157, 1991. R. G. Schroeder, A Survey of Management Science in University Operations, <i>Management Science, 19</i>, pp. 859-906, 1973. K. L. Kasten, Tenure and Merit Pay as Rewards for Research, Teaching, and Service at a Research University, <i>Journal of Higher Education, 55</i>, pp. 500-513, 1984. K. O. Magnusen, Faculty Evaluation, Performance and Pay: Application and Issues, <i>Journal of Higher Education, 58</i>, pp. 516-529, 1987. H. J. Brightman, Toward Teaching Excellence in the Decision Sciences, <i>Decision Sciences, 18</i>, pp. 646-661, 1987. J. R. Evans, Creative Thinking and Innovative Education in the Decision Sciences, <i>Decision Sciences, 17</i>, pp. 250-262, 1986. J. A. Centra, <i>Determining Faculty Effectiveness: Assessing Teaching, Research, and Service for Personnel Decisions and Improvement</i>, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1980. P. Seldin, <i>Changing Practices in Faculty Evaluation: A Critical Assessment and Recommendations for Improvement</i>, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1984. D. P. Hoyt, Interrelationships among Instructional Effectiveness, Publication Record and Monetary Reward, <i>Research in Higher Education, 2</i>, pp. 81-89, 1974. J. W. Marlin and J. F. Niss, End-of-Course Evaluation as Indicators of Student Learning and Instructor Effectiveness, <i>Journal of Economic Education</i>, Spring 1980. D. J. Aigner and F. D. Thum, On Student Evaluation of Teaching Ability, <i>Journal of Economic Education</i>, Winter 1986. W. E. Cashin, <i>IDEA Paper No. 20: A Summary of Research</i>, Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development, Kansas State University, Manhattan, 1988. V. W. Voeks and G. M. French, Are Student Ratings of Teachers Affected by Grades?, <i>Journal of Higher Education</i>, June 1960. H. Zangenehzadeh, Grade Inflation: A Way Out, <i>Journal of Economic Education</i>, pp. 217-226, Fall 1988. D. A. Dilts, A Statistical Interpretation of Student Evaluation Feedback, <i>Journal of Economic Education</i>, Spring 1980. J. J. Seigfried and R. Fels, Research on Teaching College Economics: A Survey, <i>Journal of Economic Literature</i>, September 1979.