Re: Student/Faculty Evaluations and Grades - Correlations

[Brian Whatcott <betwys@DIRECTVINTERNET.COM>]

At 02:50 PM 11/11/02, you wrote:
>     To add some more recent data on this topic, look at the work of Valen
> Johnson of the Duke Stat. Department as outlined in his NY Times article
> of April 14, 2002.  He shows a very positive correlation between grades
> given and a positive student evaluation. i.e. the more A's you give, the
> more studetn's will reward you.  He has added anothe article at the Duke
> web site  www.stat.duke.edu/chance/153.johnson.pdf
>
>                Mike Monce
>                Connecticut College


While we are citing data on evaluations, I will mention that
I drove to Edmond near Oklahoma City to see an excellent student
opera production on Saturday last.
In killing time before "Hansel & Gretel" at U of Central
Oklahoma's Mitchell Hall began, I stepped into a computer lab
adjacent to a restaurant area (which seems quite a civilised colocation).

Idly looking over a briefing paper from the department of psychology,
I noticed a citation which specified a 0.3 correlation between a
popular evaluation instrument (SAT) and socioeconomic status - SES.

If I recall, the citation was White 1985.     While reading it, I recalled
some discussion on this list to the effect that SES is a major predictor
of SAT performance.    0.3 does not seem, on the face of it, an
overwhelming relation. Anyone care to set me straight on this one?



Brian Whatcott
  Altus OK                      Eureka!

This posting is the position of the writer, not that of SUNY-BSC, NAU or the AAPT.