NAVIGATING STUDENT-RATINGS OF INSTRUCTION

Many colleges and universities have adopted the use of student ratings of instruction as one (often the most influential) measure of instruc tional effectiveness. In this article, the authors present evidence th at although effective instruction may be multidimensional, student rat ings of instruction measure general instructional skill, which is a co mposite of three subskills: delivering instruction, facilitating inter actions, and evaluating student learning. The authors subsequently rep ort the results of a metaanalysis of the multisection validity studies that indicate that student ratings are moderately valid; however, adm inistrative, instructor, and course characteristics influence student ratings of instruction.