Browsing by Subject "Student rating of instruction"

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Open Access
Exploring impact of absent students on scale properties of student ratings of instruction in Turkey
(Sciedu Press, 2019) Kalender, Ilker
In the present study comparability or ranking of instructors based on student ratings were investigated under the effect of absenteeism. To this end, invariance of scale properties of student ratings was examined via multigroup confirmatory analysis. Using randomly selected 2098 classes, equality of factorial structure, factor loadings, intercepts and residuals were tested. Results indicated that absent and regularly attending groups have developed the same conceptual meaning for the term instructional effectiveness. Also, ratings in the both groups of classes had a common unit, which makes within-class comparisons of instructors separately for attending and absent groups possible. However instructors who teach classes with absent students systematically receive lower ratings, indicating a bias between the two groups. Student ratings were adjusted against absenteeism to lessen the effect of bias. Results showed significant differences in the rankings of top-rated instructors both before and after the adjustment. Biased ratings pose a serious threat in comparability between instructors who teach absent and attending classes. Thus decisions involving instructors should be supported by other assessment mechanisms.
Open Access
The measurement invariance of university students’ ratings of instruction
(Hacettepe University, 2019) Kalender, İlker; Berberoğlu, G.
The invariance in the scores of student rating of instruction was studied across high and low achieving classrooms. Achievement levels were determined by the two criteria such as self-reported expected grades and end of semester grades. The data included 625 classrooms. The equality of (i) factorial structure, (ii) factor loadings, (iii) item intercepts, and (iv) error variances of the 7 item rating scale were studied across these groups. With respect to self-reported expected grades, high and low achieving classes produced invariant scale characteristics except strict invariance. On the other hand, with respect to end of semester grades, full equality in item intercepts and error variances were not achieved. It seems that comparing the rating results across the classrooms and courses independent of the achievement levels of the students may be misleading especially for the high-stake decisions since the origin of the scale is not the same across high and low achieving groups.