Steve DeLoach, professor of economics, wrote a chapter about teacher evaluation in an international economics handbook published in December 2011.
The chapter is titled “What Every Economist Should Know about the Evaluation of Teaching: A Review of Literature.” It is one of 76 chapters included in the International Handbook of Teaching and Learning Economics published this month by Edgar Elgar.
Abstract
Decades of research consistently shows that student evaluations offer limited information on the effectiveness of teaching in economics. At best, such methods are valid for a limited set of factors that correlate with “good instruction.” Even though some evidence exists that student evaluations are positively correlated with learning, strong biases also exist. Even though these limitations are well-established in the literature and widely believed among faculty, the implementation of alternative or complimentary forms of assessment is notably lacking. The purpose of this paper is to review the current methods used to assess teaching. In the process, the paper proposes a research agenda for economists that aims to assess the reliability and validity of alternative processes such as peer review of teaching. The paper concludes with a number of recommendations for economics departments that are serious about enhancing both formative as well as summative assessments of teaching.
The chapter benefited greatly from timely discussion with and comments from Peter Felten and Katie King.