چکیده (انگلیسی):

The reliability and validity of course evaluations in higher education is often assumed. The typical
Likert-type surveys utilized when students' evaluate the course and instructor often overlook
measurement issues, or deal with them in an ineffective manner. Given the importance that is
placed on higher education course evaluations, with results impacting such events as merit raises
and promotion, the proper construction and use of evaluation tools is a critical issue. In an effort
to assure 'honesty' in student responses, many institutions include items written positively and
negatively, which are intended to measure the same construct. Using 537 course evaluations for a
mathematics faculty member at a Midwest college, an item analysis is conducted with attention
given to means and standard deviations, frequency counts, nonparametric correlations and tests
of significant differences between questions that should, in theory, produce a similar measure or
exactly opposite. A contention is made that the way the item is asked does matter, at least in some
instances, and it should not be assumed that an item written in the positive and negative should
directly correlate. The survey research community and institutions utilizing similar rating scale
instruments will benefit from the results of this study, as well as the education community in
general.