Improving the quality of student ratings of instruction: A look at two strategies

The effects of rating scale format (behaviorally anchored vs. Likert) and rater training on leniency and halo in student ratings of instruction were investigated. The subjects (N=269) were students enrolled in required courses at a graduate theological seminary in the Southwest United States. A repeated measures design controlling for teacher and course was used. Findings indicated: (a) training was effective in reducing leniency and halo in ratings from both instruments; (b) trained raters exhibited less leniency on two rating dimensions when using behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS's) than when using the Likert scale; and (c) trained raters exhibited less halo when using the Likert than when using the BARS. The findings demonstrate the importance of focusing efforts to improve quality of ratings on the students rather than on the format of the instrument.Presented at the Twenty-Eighth Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Phoenix, Ariz., May 1988.