Using predictive analytics to place students in courses

Dustin · Jul 1, 2021

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/07/01/report-suggests-algorithms-can-help-fix-remedial-education

An experiment suggests colleges can help students bypass remedial courses for college-level classes by using algorithms instead of placement tests to predict academic outcomes.
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Rather than using placement tests, an algorithm that places them based on their past academic success tended to place students into more advanced classes where they passed at similar or higher rates as students in their placement-test-picked class.

But as the article notes, a badly tuned algorithm can exacerbate inequalities, though this doesn't seem to be present here:

The authors of the working paper acknowledged some researchers have concerns that algorithms can perpetuate racial or socioeconomic biases in the data used. They noted that while the algorithm did not close gaps in access to college-level courses, it also did not exacerbate them. The algorithm boosted placement rates in college-level classes across groups.

Notably, placement rates for Black students into college-level English increased relative to white students, and placement rates for women into college-level math rose relative to men. Hispanic students’ placement rates in college-level math and English increased as well, though the increase for math courses was less than for white students.
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Using predictive analytics to place students in courses

Dustin Well-Known Member

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Using predictive analytics to place students in courses

Dustin Well-Known Member

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