Implementing a proctored ALEKS-based adaptive learning strategy to evaluate student preparedness and predict success in Calculus I at the University of Alaska FairbanksANKS

Abstract

In Fall 2016, the Department of Mathematics and Statistics (DMS) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) initiated a study to determine if the Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces Placement, Preparation, and Learning test (ALEKS PPL), given under proctored conditions, can be an effective tool for measuring student preparedness and predicting success in Calculus I while controlling for enrollment and demographic information. The study includes 583 students who took a Calculus I course in Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, and Spring 2020 semesters and took a Proctored ALEKS PPL test (PAPL). Of the 583 students, 301(52%) students obtained at least a score of 75 on the PAPL test, and 338 (58%) were successful in the Calculus I course. The average score on the PAPL test was 13 points higher for the students who had been successful in Calculus I (P < 0.0001, Welch’s t-test). Logistic regression showed that each additional score on the PAPL test was associated to increase the odds of success in Calculus I by a factor of 1.0843, or 8.43%, when all other factors were fixed (95% CI: 1.07 - 1.1, P < 0.0001). This study recommends implementing the PAPL test as an adaptive learning tool and a requirement for Calculus I at UAF and establishing a student-centered standard to address the student knowledge gap in precalculus.