Reconsidering the unit of analysis: A model of student ratings of instruction.

This paper describes the underlying structure of student ratings of instruction, using three units of analysis. Data were analyzed using individual ratings, class means, and deviations from class means. Course characteristics were then used as independent variables in the prediction of factor scores. Results indicated that the underlying structure of class means is different from the structure yielded by the other units of analysis. Course characteristics described a small percentage of the variance of the factor scores. The usual robust factor structure of ratings, assumed to be due to shared implicit theories about instructor behavior or item similarity, was questioned. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)