Background. End-of-course student evaluations of teaching (SETs) remain the dominant gauge of instructional quality, yet their validity and fairness have been repeatedly questioned. Purpose. This study re-examines whether SET scores capture durable learning and explores how high-stakes reliance on those scores reshapes academic behaviour. Methods. We integrated five complementary strands of secondary evidence: (a) a PRISMA-registered meta-analysis of 89 studies covering ≈5.4 million students, (b) re-analysis of two natural-experiment datasets with random instructor assignment, (c) psychometric audits of 14 institutional SET instruments, (d) computational text mining of 2.1 million open-ended comments, and (e) linkage of departmental SET means to alumni and employer outcomes. Results. Across studies, the pooled random-effects correlation between SETs and subsequent performance was r = 0.04 (95 % CI –0.03, 0.10), turning slightly negative after grade controls. Departments that tied contract renewal to minimum-SET thresholds exhibited a 0.27 GPA-point rise relative to matched controls, signalling grade inflation. Differential item functioning against female and racially minoritised faculty appeared in 9 of 23 common items, undermining measurement invariance. Programmes with high SET averages showed no advantage in alumni career readiness or employer satisfaction. Conclusions. Convergent evidence demonstrates that SETs fail to reflect long-term learning and introduce equity harms; their high-stakes use incentivises leniency that erodes academic standards. Universities seeking genuine teaching excellence should treat SETs as formative feedback, decouple them from punitive decisions, and adopt stakeholder-anchored, multi-measure frameworks that align evaluation with demonstrable learning.

Background. End-of-course student evaluations of teaching (SETs) remain the dominant gauge of instructional quality, yet their validity and fairness have been repeatedly questioned. Purpose. This study re-examines whether SET scores capture durable learning and explores how high-stakes reliance on those scores reshapes academic behaviour. Methods. We integrated five complementary strands of secondary evidence: (a) a PRISMA-registered meta-analysis of 89 studies covering ≈5.4 million students, (b) re-analysis of two natural-experiment datasets with random instructor assignment, (c) psychometric audits of 14 institutional SET instruments, (d) computational text mining of 2.1 million open-ended comments, and (e) linkage of departmental SET means to alumni and employer outcomes. Results. Across studies, the pooled random-effects correlation between SETs and subsequent performance was r = 0.04 (95 % CI –0.03, 0.10), turning slightly negative after grade controls. Departments that tied contract renewal to minimum-SET thresholds exhibited a 0.27 GPA-point rise relative to matched controls, signalling grade inflation. Differential item functioning against female and racially minoritised faculty appeared in 9 of 23 common items, undermining measurement invariance. Programmes with high SET averages showed no advantage in alumni career readiness or employer satisfaction. Conclusions. Convergent evidence demonstrates that SETs fail to reflect long-term learning and introduce equity harms; their high-stakes use incentivises leniency that erodes academic standards. Universities seeking genuine teaching excellence should treat SETs as formative feedback, decouple them from punitive decisions, and adopt stakeholder-anchored, multi-measure frameworks that align evaluation with demonstrable learning.

require these degrees. It has also led to grade inflation, a trend to award higher grades for accomplishment of the same quality. Credentialism is a reliance Credentialism and degree inflation are processes that result in an inflation of demand for educational qualifications, and the devaluation of these educational qualifications. Credentialism or professionalization is the growing protection of professions in modern societies by demanding formal qualifications or certifications. Degree inflation, also called credential inflation, academic inflation, Cre… Grade inflation is the tendency to award progressively higher academic grades for work that would have received lower grades in the past. It is frequently discussed in relation to education in the United States, and to GCSEs and A levels in England and Wales. It is also discussed as an issue in Canada and many other nations, especially Australia and New Zealand.