Assessment in Higher Education—Mid-semester Evaluations
As the second entry in our Assessment in Higher Education series, this article focuses on mid-semester evaluations. These evaluations can come in a number of formats including one or two survey questions, yes-no questions to specific aspects of the class, or a broader review of the semester in the form of open ended questions. They all, however, will help you evaluate your effectiveness as an instructor in the students’ eyes and give you the opportunity to see if you are doing what you think you are doing in the class.

As a way of contextualizing mid-semester evaluations within the broader concept of assessment, the following “Seven Pillars of Assessment for Accountability” lay out the foundation behind some of the principles of assessment (Shulman 2007 quoted in Nuhfer 2007):

1. Become explicit about the story you need to tell and the rationale for choosing it.
2. Locate the instrument in a larger conceptual framework that explicitly stipulates what it does measure and what it does not.
3. Design multiple measures.
4. Work on combining multiple measures.
5. Remember that high stakes corrupt…assessment of course learning gains need not entail an exercise in high-stakes evaluation of individuals.
6. Embed assessment into ongoing instruction.
7. Become an active and collaborative site for research on new forms of assessment.

Mid-semester evaluations are a wonderful example of an assessment strategy that is not high stakes (principle 5), are part of ongoing instruction (principle 6), and can be part of your larger framework for assessment that is specific to student-centered learning (principle 2). The evaluations can also be used to connect with your students in order to help you understand what they are learning. Mid-semester evaluations can also help you learn how are they contributing to the classroom experience and what can be done to improve student learning outcomes.

Why are Mid-Semester Evaluations Important?

One principle behind the momentum for active, continuous faculty assessment of students rather than simply grading at the end of the semester, is to teach your students that they are equal participants in the education process rather than passive recipients of our knowledge—“One of the key features of learner-centered pedagogy is that students become actively engaged in their learning” (Harris and Cullen 2007: 5). Students may believe that “teaching is something that is ‘done to them’ and [carry] themselves accordingly” rather than being “equally responsible for their own learning” (Streck 2007: 9-10). One way to break this trend is to actively “engage [students] in the learning process” by discussing classroom pedagogies, discipline core principles, and your teaching philosophy (Streck 2007:10). Mid-semester evaluations are one way of doing just that: they ask the students to be involved in improving the course and show students that you are interested and concerned with their progress.

Beyond student involvement, mid-semester evaluations are also a wonderful way to discover how effective your teaching methods have been up to the middle of the semester. If an instructor waits for the end of the semester evaluations, the only change that can happen would be for future classes. An intervention in the middle of the semester means you can be sure that students are learning what you want them to be learning in the most efficient manner possible.

How will Mid-Semester Evaluations help my students’ performance?

Although not explicitly about student’s individual performance, mid-semester evaluations can be made to include questions that ask the students to reflect on their own place in the class (taken from http://taproject.rutgers.edu/services_tips/ Mid-Semester_Evaluation.php3):

General mid-semester evaluation questions

1. What grade do you expect to earn in this class? On what do you base this expectation? (Do you feel your grade accurately reflects your effort?)
2. Have you kept up with the reading assignments? Yes/No? If not, approximately what percentage of the readings have you completed?
3. How much time per week do you devote to this class outside of scheduled class hours?
4. What would encourage you to participate more?

Lab/Science course mid-semester evaluation questions:

1. Do you feel adequately prepared to complete this lab, based on the lab manual and pre-lab lecture?
2. How much time did you put into writing the first lab report?

Not only will students have a chance to reflect on the amount of time and quality of effort they have put into class preparation, but you will be able to intervene if the students as a whole are not giving exercises, readings, or lab reports adequate attention. As part of the evaluation, you could discuss the amount of time needed to succeed in the class, encourage them to keep up with the readings as the semester winds down, and suggest ways to participate if they are shy or not comfortable speaking in front of other students.

How can I use evaluations in large classes?

If you teach large lectures or labs, it may be better to ask only one or two questions at the end of class during a few weeks in the middle of the semester. That way, you have more time to read the evaluations and can address particular issues immediately.

What do I do with evaluations after they are completed by the students?

To complete the assessment process, discuss student answers with the class. You do not necessarily need to discuss every concern, but major trends, student fears, or points of immediate and essential intervention. For example:

“This class is too early.” “The desk is too small.” “The room is so hot!”

Comments like these need not be addressed unless you can do something about the problem. If you have the ability to control the temperature in the room, then feel free to ask them as a group about it. But you cannot control the time of the class or the size of the desks. Focus your attention and energy on those issues and concerns about which you can do something.. Issues that can be addressed in the current semester include:

1. Misunderstandings of readings or course materials
2. Students falling behind in the material
3. Volume issues with your voice, the microphone, or visual issues with blackboard writing.
4. Changing habits that interfere with your teaching (jiggling the change in your pocket, saying “ummm” between every sentence, not making eye contact, reading verbatim the power points rather than using them for illustrative purposes, etc.)

These kinds of issues can, and should, be addressed. When you discuss the mid-semester evaluation with your students, let them know what you can change for the remainder of the semester. If there are things that you cannot or will not change, let them know the reasons behind your choice.

Examples of mid-semester evaluations, including some designed for science disciplines, are available at the TA project’s website (see the Bibliography and Additional Resources at the end of this article).

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for new assessment strategies, please contact us.