Disciplinary Differences in Student Ratings. IDEA Technical Report No. 13

Participants in the IDEA student rating system frequently ask whether or not results differ significantly among disciplines. Do disciplines emphasize different objectives? Do their students report similar levels of progress on objectives selected by the instructor? Do teaching "approaches" differ across disciplines? Do specific disciplines enroll students with distinctive characteristics? All of these questions are of inherent interest; their answers could also have an important impact on the interpretation of results from the IDEA system. The purpose of this report is to examine such questions by analyzing data obtained by The IDEA Center from August 1998, through August 2001. Technical Report #12 describes this database more completely. This report is organized into the following sections: (1) Procedure; (2) Interpreting the Measures; (3) Format of the Report; (4) Limitations; and (5) Discipline Discussions. [For "Basic Data for the Revised IDEA System. IDEA Technical Report No. 12," see ED604061.]