The Economic Effects of Grade Inflation on Instructor Evaluations: A Theoretical Approach

Abstract

The impact of student evaluations of teachers has been the subject of considerable attention, and Professor McKenzie attempts to shed light on the issue by developing an economic choice model of human behavior. He considers four ways by which instructors can inflate grades and shows how students might react to these changes in grading structure. McKenzie is critical of Allen Kelley's analysis of the uses and abuses of course evaluations, which appeared in the Fall 1972 issue of this journal. A short response by Professor Kelley follows the McKenzie article.