TIGER'S EYE.

Student Evaluations Are Important Assessment Tools A student evaluation of courses is an essential tool of assessment for class instruction. However, mistrust of student evaluations by faculty, and student perceptions that evaluations are a waste of time to fill out can lead to apathy or worse.

Student evaluations can be taken lightly by the students filling out the forms. The faculty being evaluated could ignore the same evaluations. Without some type of accountability on both ends, student evaluations can be and should be ignored.

What are some ways to create accountability? Student evaluations are often stripped down to various levels of agreements or disagreements and not tools of proactive thought. Students should be asked thought-provoking questions that are basic to each course. These questions should be incorporated into any student evaluation of courses. The school should make anonymity of the students who are doing the evaluations a high priority.

Accountability by the faculty on student evaluations should be made in written form as well. Faculty should write a report on how the student evaluations were helpful to address course planning or how each one helped address instructional weaknesses.

As an assessment tool for courses and class instructions, student evaluations should play an important role in the continual development of curriculum and the improvement of faculty instruction. Making the student evaluations accountable to both students and faculty will help strengthen this important assessment tool for everyone.

Recommended reading in this area of student evaluations is "Developing a Comprehensive Faculty Evaluation System" by Raoul A. Arreola.

Dwight Hunter Chattanooga State Technical Community College <[e-mail]>