A personnel committee is evaluating professors. Professor X has the highest student ratings in the department. One of the committee members suggests that Professor X should receive the highest merit raise in the department. Another committee member raises an objection. She states, "Professor X scores are high, compared to other professors, because over half of the students drop out of Professor X's courses, not because Professor X is an excellent professor." What threat to the validity of the conclusion that Professor X is an excellent professor is the committee member describing?
A) Maturation effect
B) History effect
C) Testing effect
D) Differential attrition effect

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The committee member is describing the differential attrition effect, where the dropout of students could skew the ratings, making them not representative of all students' opinions.

A Personnel Committee Is Evaluating Professors