Interpreting Reports

The following resources provide guidance for interpreting the individual faculty reports.

Video: Understanding Adjusted Scores

Bill Pallett, President of The IDEA Center, explains understanding adjusted scores. Tips for best viewing experience:

  • Click the "Understanding Adjusted Scores" link directly above
  • Have a report in front of you for reference
  • Click the button to the left of the volume control to switch to full screen
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Disciplines with Norms

PDF containing The IDEA Center's "Disciplines with Norms."

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Using IDEA Results for Administrative Decision Making

The Administrative Decision Making and Faculty Evaluation guide provides strategies for making instructional and administrative decisions based on Student Ratings of Instruction results.

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Relationship of Teaching Methods to Learning Objectives

PDF with a chart that illustrates the correlations between identified learning obectives and corresponding teaching methods. These correlations were derived by analyzing the data from numerous administrations of Student Ratings of Instruction at multiple sites over multiple years:

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Interpretative Guide: IDEA Diagnostic Form Report

This PDF guide provides information to help you interpret your IDEA Diagnostic Form Report. You will find links in each section that provide expanded details about the interpretation of various aspects of the reports and the use of student ratings:

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Interpretative Guide: IDEA Short Form Report

This PDF guide provides information to help you interpret your IDEA Short Form Report. You will find links in each section that provide expanded details about the interpretation of various aspects of the reports and the use of student ratings:

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Interpreting Adjusted Scores

A PDF guide to Interpreting Adjusted Scores.

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Number of Responses and Response Rate Messages

PDF with a breakdown of responses and response rate messages provided on IDEA Reports:

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Value and Limitations of Student Ratings

Student ratings of instruction have been the subject of over 2,000 published research studies. The vast majority of these offer assurance that ratings possess acceptable reliability (if there are at least 10 raters). Ratings have also been shown to be reasonably valid in a number of different ways. Perhaps the most convincing of these are the studies of multiple sections of large courses in which student ratings were highest for instructors whose students made the best grades on a common final examination.

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