RateMyProfessor.com Gets Rated

A study performed by Michael Sonntag, vice president for academic affairs at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, raises questions as to the validity of RateMyProfessor.com. Most professors state that they do not trust this rating system because it does not take into account those students who did not do the work or have some other reason for giving a negative rating. Sonntag's survey researched the correlation between the rating system from the website and a student evaluation system, used nationwide, called IDEA. IDEA is used by about 275 colleges across the nation and is run by a nonprofit organization affiliated with Kansas State University. Unlike RateMyProfessor.com, IDEA gives a lot of control to the faculty members. It allows the professors to identify the teaching methods they feel are important to the class, and adjustments are made for uncontrollable factors, such as class size, and students' work habits. The argument is that the website ratings do not address these factors and, therefore, cannot be an accurate portrayal of professors' capabilites. However, Sonntag's survey found that there was a high correlation between these two systems. When 126 professors' rankings, from Lander University of SC, were looked at using both systems, the results were surprisingly similar. Sonntag asserts that this could mean one of two things: that RateMyProfessor.com is more accurate than people give it credit for, or that the IDEA survey is not a very accurate evaluation system either. The president of IDEA, William Pallet, is surprised by these results and stands by the validity of IDEA, pointing out that it is not, however, the end-all-be-all of professor evaluation. He emphasizes that more factors than just student evaluation are taken into account, but he does feel that the evaluations have merit. Sonntag states that he has, over his 10 year run as a professor, taken RateMyProfessor.com evaluations into account, when deciding what was working for him and what wasn't. He addresses the fact that some evaluations are just mean-spirited but, if you disregard those statements, the others can be useful. In fact he found validation for some of the methods he uses, by hearing from students that they were useful and productive. I for one, am inclined to agree with Sonntag. I had never even heard of RateMyProfessor.com until this semester. Out of curiosity, I checked it out and to my surprise, it was usually fairly accurate. I was not shocked to discover that most of the professors people complain about the most, who will remain nameless, are the ones that had the most comments. What I was shocked about, however, was that most of what was said about them was positive, rather than negative. It seemed that the students who actually did their work and could look beyond some, maybe less than desirable, habits these professors might have, could see and appreciate the benefits of their teaching strategies. I have often found myself defending a professor, or two, that others find to be too abrasive or too hard of a grader. The students on the website seem to be doing the same. The general consensus is: do the work and you'll be fine and you'll learn a lot. Of course, there were those negative comments, but I found that the only professor who really got nothing but negative comments, honestly deserved much of what was said. I hate to say it, but I have taken a course with this professor myself, and have never spoken with anyone who thought the class was conducted in a well-rounded, professional manner. (I'd like to point out, here, that this is the only professor I have ever had, whom which I have not been able to find something positive to say). All in all, like Sonntag argues, if you look past those students who only seem to be holding a grudge, I think most of the comments can be taken at face value and considered fairly accurate. That being said, I caution everyone to make their own decisions. No one should ever decide not to take a class based on what other people feel about a professor. That could be the professor who changes your life in a profound beneficial way.