Moving Beyond Student Satisfaction in Evaluating Educational Impact
by Laura Baecher-Lind, M.D., MPH; Divya Kelath Shah, M.D., MME; Joshua F. Nitsche, M.D., Ph.D. | May 12, 2026
Article Citation: Artino AR Jr, Chen HC, Santen SA, Simons RJ, Christner JG, Teherani A. Overreliance on student satisfaction surveys in medical education: a call for reform in evaluation and accreditation practices. Acad Med. 2026 Jan 1;101(1):12-18. doi: 10.1093/acamed/wvaf002.
What is this article about?
Undergraduate medical education program evaluation has traditionally relied heavily upon student satisfaction ratings to guide programmatic changes, faculty promotion, and accreditation decisions. The volume of these surveys places a burden on medical students and leads to diminished response rates and poor-quality feedback. Moreover, ample evidence shows that student satisfaction surveys suffer from design flaws, inherently bias, and reflect student contentment rather than true educational quality or learning outcomes. In fact, some studies have demonstrated that student satisfaction scores were inversely proportionate to educational quality, encouraged poor teaching practices, and led to grade inflation. Overreliance on these data for key curricular or accreditation decisions may therefore undermine the goal of academic rigor that educational institutions aim to achieve.
This Scholarly Perspective describes this tension and argues for alternative methods beyond student satisfaction ratings to assess educational efficacy and impact. The authors advocate for holistic, objective, and evidence-based evaluation approaches including focus groups, peer observation and review of teaching materials, and training a representative cadre of students and faculty in best practices of how to deliver and receive feedback. Triangulating data from these multiple sources will help educational programs move beyond simply satisfying students toward ensuring that medical education programs and accreditation agencies uphold educational quality.
Why should you read the article?
All medical educators – from faculty teaching at the bedside to Deans of medical schools – are substantially impacted by student evaluations, as these evaluations inform decisions ranging from teaching award to accreditation risk. Just as assessment drives learning, programmatic evaluation that focuses on student satisfaction rather than educational outcomes may produce a more satisfied but potentially less competent physician workforce. As such, revisiting programmatic evaluation to expand beyond student satisfaction ratings toward more objective evaluations of educational impact is critical. This Scholarly Perspective suggests how undergraduate medical education leaders can approach this responsibility using a more holistic and pedagogically sound approach.
How can you use this article?
For those in positions of educational leadership, this article can be referenced to justify revising or expanding current approaches to program and faculty evaluation within medical schools. For those more focused on the day-to-day education of students, this article can inform how you use student feedback in the ongoing improvement of your teaching methods. As we approach “award season” in undergraduate medical education – commencement and graduations – educators can adopt some of these strategies to ensure award recipients are not simply the most popular but also the most impactful educators.
Review Authors: Laura Baecher-Lind, M.D., MPH; Dean of Educational Affairs and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA (Co-authored with Dr. Divya Kelath Shah, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; and Dr. Joshua F. Nitsche, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC). Organization: Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics