Can SETs be effective at measuring learning outcomes?
A recent meta-analysis by Uttl et al. (2017) found that there is little to no correlation between student learning gains and SETs.  The study concludes that students are not likely to learn more from an instructor with better SET ratings. They follow with claims as to why this is the case, citing that student’s interest, motivation, prior knowledge, and other factors lead to SETs being unreliable. Another study by Uttl et al. (2013) found that SETs were nearly six standard deviations lower for quantitative courses than non-quantitative courses.
A common issue with past SETs is that students are asked to rate instructors on areas they are ill-equipped to judge. For more information, see the Evaluation Systems section of this FAQ.