Predicting Student Achievement in University-Level Business and Economics Classes: Peer Observation of Classroom Instruction and Student Ratings of Teaching Effectiveness

Abstract

We examine the validity of peer observation of classroom instruction for purposes of faculty evaluation. Using both a multi-section course sample and a sample of different courses across a university's School of Business and Economics we find that the results of annual classroom observations of faculty teaching are significantly and positively correlated with student learning outcome assessment measures. This finding supports the validity of classroom observation as an assessment of teaching effectiveness. The research also indicates that student ratings of teaching effectiveness (SETEs) were less effective at measuring student learning than annual classroom observations by peers.