Grading And Assessments: Correlations Of Variables Affecting Teaching And Course Assessments

Abstract

Faculty assessments are a hot topic in academia. Mostly considered an unproven statistic holding the professor hostage for a good grade, the benefits are still in discussion.  At course end, we expect students to have the ability to analyze what we think they should have learned.  In reality, most students do not have the maturity to realize correlation for what you put into your education is what you get out.  Consensus is that it does not happen the way we plan.  Adding to the assessment issue is the clear fact that today most universities are adjunct professor-driven. Given these facts, the authors have statistically studied teaching assessments and associated grade point averages (GPA) representing academic rigor at a major non-profit university over the past three years.  The authors’ hypothesis is that there is no correlation between the two statistics.  This paper reviews the literature, provides the study methodology, and presents the findings.