The Relationship of Student Evaluations of Faculty to Student Performance on a Common Final Examination in the Principles of Economics Courses

Abstract

This paper tests the hypothesis that the frequently observed correlation between student achievement and student evaluations of faculty can be explained by the relationship of both variables to class attendance. Multiple regression using data from 122 sections of principles of economics taught over a four-year period is employed to estimate a model to predict both class attendance rates and mean class performance on a common final exam. Results on the microeconomics sections tend to support the hypothesis. Results on the macroeconomics sections reveal a negative though largely insignificant relationship between student evaluations and student achievement. (A22, 121)