Influences on pupil evaluations of student teachers

The influences of 5 aspects of the assessment context on pupil evaluations of student teachers were determined by multiple covariance analyses. The sources of influence were (1) teacher ability or grade in student teaching course, (2) grade level of the class taught, 7-12, (3) subject-matter area taught, (4) social class level of the school, and (5) sex of the student teacher. The 6 dependent variables were factor scores from the pupil observation survey: (1) friendly and cheerful, (2) knowledgeable and poised, (3) lively and interesting, (4) firm control, (5) nondirective, and (6) the principal axis, general evaluation. Implications for research with pupil evaluation measures are discussed.