Would you like to see the results of those class evaluations you fill out each semester? As of fall 1997, you can. A multiple-choice survey of students' opinions will be summarized for each class. The results will be published in a booklet by ASUA, to ass ist students in selecting their courses. Many universities already publish their evaluations; it seems to be an idea whose time has come. But how useful will these statistics really be? In my view, a set of opinions unsupported by reasons seems likely to prove irrelevant, or even actively misleading.

The evaluations will consist of 10 questions, with answers on a "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree" type of scale. Students will rate the overall effectiveness of the instructor; difficulty of the course; how much students feel they learned; usefulnes s of readings, assignments and in-class activities; rating of this instructor compared to others; and whether students were treated with respect.

Since no individual, written comments are to be included, the evaluations will be difficult to interpret. You will be able to see that 10 out of a total 35 students didn't like the instructor, but their reasons and motivations for saying so will remain hi dden. They may be reasons that would resonate with you; on the other hand, they may not. Though not completely raw data, this seems medium rare at best and offers a limited scope for making a meaningful choice of classes.

In comparing teaching methods, I foresee a popularity contest, with charismatic teachers having a statistical advantage over excellent but less outgoing instructors. Teaching assistants and others in their first year of teaching aren't necessarily as rela xed as professors with 20 years of experience, but evaluations are unlikely to distinguish between them.

Comparing the difficulty level of courses also has potential problems. Criteria vary from one student to another. A student with no aptitude for molecular biology will give that particular course a bad rating, and perhaps deter a potential Pasteur. Some classes are inherently more difficult than others - but that isn't to say that everyone will find them unmanageable.

I could find a lot of excuses not to register for a class labeled up-front as a stinker - yet my most difficult classes have also been the most worthwhile. Taking a tough class is like deciding to have kids - there is never an ideal time to do it. Your s chedule will always look too busy. All you can do is go ahead and live through it - but I never met anyone who seriously regretted either experience.

Hopefully, students will avoid using published evaluations to seek easy options. An informal survey suggests that students are more interested in the instructor than in the difficulty level of the course. Last semester's evaluations won't always help in l ocating your instructor, though; the schedule of classes frequently omits names, or even shows the wrong one - or the scheduled instructor may not have taught this class recently.

If you do find a listing, the trends shown for the course may be misleading. Maybe students voting in-class activities as "not very useful" were thinking of discussions dominated by a few over-talkative class members. Maybe important background reading wa s dismissed by many as irrelevant, whereas others might see it as a valuable foundation to the course.

This lack of real information is unfortunate, since, in general, students look forward to being able to make a visible input. One 1995 graduate said, "I stopped bothering to fill out evaluations after a few semesters - I just felt like nobody really cared ." It is good to have your opinion counted, and current students are very positive about evaluations going public. They feel that it's time they were heard. But with everyone talking at once, how do you hear what any one person is really saying?

English Professor John Ulreich said he sees evaluations as an important part of the educational process. "Learning to reason intelligently and make informed choices is what education is all about," he said. Knowledge, he maintains, is always a good thing . In principle, this is true - but in their projected form, the evaluations will neither contribute to the total sum of useful knowledge, nor will they constitute a basis for making an informed choice. Viewed as a primary data source, they offer a disturb ingly fuzzy picture.

I do agree that student opinion of classes deserves to be heard - but when it takes such a generalized form, I think it's important to bear in mind that rare data is best digested when you add a grain or two of salt.

Kaye Patchett is a creative writing senior. Her column appears every other Monday.