This paper explores the common elements identified as context variables that may effect student evaluation of instruction, and presents literature from sociology, anthropology, and linguistics that offers renewed challenges to researchers in this area of data interpretation. The common context variables that are seen as effecting student evaluation of instruction are as follows: (1) course variables, such as required/elective, day or evening, course level, lecture versus discussion, and others; (2) instructor variables, such as rank, gender, full-time versus part-time, years teaching, individual rapport, and personality characteristics; (3) student variables, such as academic major versus minor, full-time versus part-time, gender, personality characteristics, and others; (4) administration variables, such as student anonymity, direction giving, timing of semester evaluations, etc.; and (5) instrument variables, such as placement of items, number of response alternatives, negative wording of items, and the labeling of all scale points versus labeling only end points. The paper examines teaching effectiveness through the communication style used by the instructor, as well as the biased expectations that can be held by instructors of their students' intellectual performance. Conversely, student bias towards teachers is discussed within the contexts of gender and sociocultural stereotyping. Contains 46 references. (GLR)