Increasing productivity in educational systems is of great importance. Researchers are keen to predict the academic performance of students; this is done to enhance the overall productivity of educational system by effectively identifying students whose performance is below average. This universal concern has been combined with data science…

Student grade prediction is a popular task for learning analytics, given grades are the traditional form of student performance. However, no matter the learning environment, student background, or domain content, there are things in common across most experiences in learning. In most previous machine learning models, previous grades are considered…

In this paper, we evaluate the complete undergraduate co-enrollment network over a decade of education at a large American public university. We provide descriptive and exploratory analyses of the network, demonstrating that the co-enrollment networks evaluated follow power-law degree distributions similar to many other large-scale networks; that…

To refine selective admission models, we investigate which measure of prior achievement has the best predictive validity for academic success in university. We compare the predictive validity of three core high school subjects to the predictive validity of high school grade point average (GPA) for academic achievement in a liberal arts university…

The Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) curriculum emphasizes writing, collaboration, organization, and reading to strengthen academic skills. High school students enrolled in AVID elective classes receive daily academic support, while enrolled in challenging classes such as Advanced Placement (AP). The purpose of this study was to…

During the transition period between the use of exclusively old SAT® scores and the use of exclusively new SAT scores, college admission offices will be receiving both types of scores from students. Making an admission decision based on new SAT scores can be challenging at first because institutions have methods, procedures, and models based on…

This quantitative survey questionnaires study compared the teacher-student interactions (TSI) and academic achievement of African-American and African immigrant undergraduate males. The academic achievement gap between different population groups provided the impetus for the study. While African Americans have been described as under-achievers in…

National calls for improving science education (e.g., "Vision and Change") emphasize the need to learn disciplinary core ideas through scientific practices. To address this need, we engaged small groups of students in developing diagrammatic models within two (one large-enrollment and one medium-enrollment) undergraduate introductory…

This paper reports on a study to predict students at risk of failing based on data available prior to commencement of first year. The study was conducted over three years, 2010 to 2012, on a student population from a range of academic disciplines, n=1,207. Data was gathered from both student enrollment data and an online, self-reporting,…

Objective: This study analyzes how ethnicity, gender, and non-traditional student characteristics relate to differential online versus face-to-face outcomes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses at community colleges. Method: This study used a sample of 3,600 students in online and face-to-face courses matched by…

Primary literature is essential for scientific communication and is commonly utilized in undergraduate biology education. Despite this, there is often little time spent "training" our students how to critically analyze a paper. To address this, we introduced a primary literature module in multiple upper-division laboratory courses. In…

Sociologists have long used educational expectations to understand the complex mental processes underlying individuals' educational decision making. Yet, little research evaluates how students actually formulate their educational expectations. Status attainment theory asserts that students adopt their educational expectations early based on family…

Many studies have explored the contribution of different factors from diverse theoretical perspectives to the explanation of academic performance. These factors have been identified as having important implications not only for the study of learning processes, but also as tools for improving curriculum designs, tutorial systems, and students'…

This is a comprehensive study of the many facets of an entirely online organic chemistry course. Online homework with structure-drawing capabilities was found to be more effective than written homework. Online lecture was found to be just as effective as in-person lecture, and students prefer an online lecture format with shorter Webcasts. Online…

This research study was specifically designed to examine the relationship of a learning communities program, as a standard treatment effect, on the academic performance and retention of college freshmen during the Fall 2008 through Fall 2011 academic semesters, and specifically for a university comprised of higher levels of underrepresented…