| Abstract: | Comments on articles in the November 1997 issue of American Psychologist concerning student evaluations of teaching (SETs). The current author notes that though SETs are widely used as an easy and objective means to evaluate teachers, their use has produced an unintended consequence—grade inflation, a primary contributor to declining academic standards and the "dumbing-down" of the curriculum. It is contended that the practice of inflating grades to increase SET ratings suggests a lack of integrity. It is argued that some type of adjustment for grading leniency or perceived grading fairness should be implemented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
