Instructional Assessment System (IAS)
Interpreting Your Results

The information on your individual faculty report is based on the scannable evaluation forms that were filled out by your students. The class enrollment and the number f students who completed at least a portion of the rating sheet are found in the bottom right-hand corner of the report.

The body of the report shows the text of the evaluation items and, immediately adjacent, the number of students who responded to each item. Student responses to each item are summarized as the percentage of students who chose various response categories, the median response, and decile ranks based on two comparison groups.

Percentages are based on the number of students who answered the respective item.

Medians. Numeric values have been assigned to the various rating scales for the purpose of computing medians. The scale values are as follows:

The median indicates the scale point at which half of the students elected higher scale points, and half selected lower. Medians are computed to two decimal places by interpolation.¹ Higher medians reflect more favorable ratings with the possible exception of items 23, and 28-30. To interpret your ratings, translate the value of each median to the corresponding response scale. For example, for items 1-4, a median of 4.5 means that your average rating is half-way between “Very Good” and “Excellent.” For items 28 and 29, the median workload has been divided by credit hours to allow comparisons across classes.

Decile Ranks. Comparative norms are reported as decile ranks for items 1-27.² These norms are based on your item medians. Decile ranks range from 0 (lowest) to 9 (highest). The 0 decile indicates that your item median is in the lowest 10% of all scores. A decile rank of 1 places your median above 10% and below 20% of the scores, and so on up to a decile of 9 which places your median in the top 10% of all scores. For all items, higher medians yield higher decile ranks.

Decile ranks are based on student ratings collected over the past two academic years. Your ratings are compared to all classes at your institution and classes within your college, school or division.³ Decile ranks are printed only for items with sufficient normative data.

Items with low decile ranks may suggest areas where instructional improvement efforts might e focused. You also should be aware that average ratings tend to be high; thus a relatively low decile rank may be associated with “good” ratings in absolute terms.

Optional Items. If you have used optional items, their results will be found on the second page of your report. To interpret the results, you will need to consult your copy of the item text you used.