Contrary to popular opinion, easy professors do not necessarily receive high student ratings. Time of Day Class is Taught. The time of day the class meets has no effect on ratings. 1. Expected Grade. This relationship between expected grades and ratings is usually offered as evidence for the validity of ratings.
Students can distinguish among instructors on the basis of how much they have learned.
If they have learned more, they expect higher grades and will give higher ratings. But faculty do not receive high student ratings just because they give high grades. If students are motivated because of a prior interest in the subject matter or because they chose the class as an elective, instructors are more likely to receive higher ratings in those classes. The research on the effect of students' gender on the ratings they give has not been conclusive. Early research concluded there was little or no relationship between gender and student ratings.