Instructor Ratings: Controlling for Bias from Initial Student Interest

Congruent with previous findings, initial student interest in course content was found to be related to student ratings of instructor, course, and goal attainment. A commonly used measure of initial student interest was shown to confound course-related and instructor-related interest. Path analysis was used to illustrate the causal interrelationships among these variables. The importance of accurately assessing initial student interest in course content to ensure the fair evaluation of teaching effectiveness, particularly in business schools, is discussed, and an implementation strategy is recommended.