Discusses two studies that debunk the popular myths that student evaluations of teaching (SETs) are substantially biased by low workload and grading leniency. Results imply teaching effects were related to SETs. Contrary to predictions workload, expected grades, and their relations to SETs were stable over 12 years. (Author/MKA)

Analyses of students' responses to Students' Evaluation of Education Quality (collected 4,471 courses) focused on two interrelated issues: the multidimensionality of student ratings and their susceptibility to bias. (Author/PN)

The relationship between grades that students expected to receive and their evaluations of instructional quality was investigated. Correlations between expected grades and 10 evaluation scores--eight evaluation factors and two overall summary items--were based on the average responses in 591 undergraduate classes offered one term at the University…

Nominations made by graduating seniors for most and least outstanding instructors were compared with university-wide instructional evaluations adopted the following year. The findings offer support for the validity of students' evaluations because the distinction between instructors nominated most outstanding and least outstanding by graduating…

To determine the relationship between 16 background variables and students' evaluations of instruction, a questionnaire was completed in 511 undergraduate courses at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Student variables, including grade point average, class size, expected grade, and prior subject interest, rarely explained 10% of…