Insight

The ABCs of 5-4-3 teacher evaluations

This is your last chance: drop that class!

Every student has suffered through classes that were not merely bad, but awful; and this is nearly always the professor's fault. It would be nice if every teacher at Metro was great, but that's just not the case. At Metro, there are a few teachers who are really excellent, many mediocre, and a few hideously bad.

The challenge students face is how to tell the difference.

It is for exactly this purpose that Metro provides access to faculty evaluations online through MetroConnect.

Select a teacher, and you'll see the results of the evaluation forms students fill out. They are a measure of student satisfaction with that teacher, and are, I believe, the most accurate measure of a teacher's performance.

Having checked the rating of almost every teacher I've had in my three years at Metro, I'm convinced that the evaluations are usually dead-on.

The problem, however, is that most students can't make any sense of the results. Upon clicking a teacher's name, they are confronted by a bewildering grid of numbers with no reference points provided. Seeing this, most people retreat in confusion and never access the system again.

But you're in luck, because I've done the research for you! Here is Joel's Complete Guide to Faculty Evaluations.

First, click on a prospective teacher's name. You should see three or four of the grids I mentioned. These are the results from the classes the teacher taught that semester.

Second, ignore all of the numbers, except for the last row on the right. These are the only ones that are really important. Most likely, the numbers are about the same for any given class, so just choose one grid and look at that.

You'll notice the numbers range from one to six. One is the lowest and worst possible score; six is the highest and best.

However, this isn't to say a score of 3 is average. It's not. In fact, students are remarkably reluctant to give teachers truly bad evaluations, and the college mean is about 4.75. So, you've got to discern the relative scale that applies here.

Scan the numbers on the right-hand side, do a quick mental average and apply them against my scale below:

5.50 - 6.0: Hail to thee, mentors of gods of humans alike! These teachers aren't just good; they're fantastic. Kick, scream, lie, and go hungry to take their classes. They're masters of both their profession and of the fine art of teaching, and if you value your education, you'll sign up for their classes.

5.0 - 5.49: A fine teacher-above average. I'd take their class in a minute. While there may be one or two points that bug you a little, these teachers have something to teach you, and they may, in fact, deserve a better rating than they've received.

4.5 - 4.99: Average. Most likely they're not awful, but they're probably not great, either. While these professors likely have some knowledge of their subject, there's something about their teaching style that rubs some students the wrong way. Maybe they're largely ignorant of their subject, but are so easy on students that students treat them generously in the evaluations.

4.0 - 4.49: Below average. At this point, you should seriously consider rearranging your schedule to avoid taking these teachers' classes. Again, these teachers may have some knowledge, but there is something in their teaching style that seriously grates on many students. There's a fair-to-good chance that you're going to curse these teachers five weeks into the semester.

3.5 - 3.99: Bad. Avoid these teachers, because they suck. Taking their classes will give you headaches, back pains, and eye twitches. You can learn more by sitting at home in your bathrobe doing shots of Jack Daniel's and watching Adam Sandler movies.

3.49 and below: How and why are these mentally stunted misanthropes working at Metro? These teachers spend most of their class time hurling feces at students and ranting madly about the injustices done to them by Brazilian fruit bats. They're completely unqualified and hate their job, their life and you.

That's it. I'll close by pointing out that the system really is confusing and our college administrators should attempt to simplify it.

Take your education seriously. Do your research and drop that class.