This is actually unbelievable. In the UK, students couldn't take A-level exams due to the pandemic, so scores were automatically determined by an algorithm.
As a result, most of the As this year - way more than usual - were given to students at private/independent schools. 😩
As a result, most of the As this year - way more than usual - were given to students at private/independent schools. 😩
This happened to International Baccalaureate (IB) scores earlier this year - in the US & abroad, students could not take exams + had their scores assigned by an algorithm.
This algo yielded unexpected results, jeopardizing student admissions to college.
wired.com/story/algorith…
This algo yielded unexpected results, jeopardizing student admissions to college.
wired.com/story/algorith…
For the IB model, "The system used signals including a student’s grades on assignments and **grades from past grads at their school** to predict what they would have scored..."
Anyone with knowledge of variable proxies like zipcodes understands how this can easily become biased.
Anyone with knowledge of variable proxies like zipcodes understands how this can easily become biased.
This is killing me - exact same thing happened in Scotland the week before. 😭 Scottish Qualifications Authority reduces exam scores of pupils from the poorest 20% of areas by more than 15 points, while rich pupils downgraded by under 10. h/t @a_bacci
theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/a…
theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/a…
Updates to this thread in the context of some helpful replies:
The A-levels fiasco affected mostly students in England and Wales, not the entire UK. (The UK is a sovereign state made up of four countries - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. )
The A-levels fiasco affected mostly students in England and Wales, not the entire UK. (The UK is a sovereign state made up of four countries - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. )
Scotland tried something similar but backpedaled on the algorithmically assigned downgrades after protests.
That being said, many students internationally do take A-levels and are affected but have almost no access to appeals, so that sucks.
independent.co.uk/news/education…
That being said, many students internationally do take A-levels and are affected but have almost no access to appeals, so that sucks.
independent.co.uk/news/education…
And the details of the story in Scotland continue to haunt me: "The pass rate for higher pupils from the most deprived areas of Scotland was reduced by 15.2 per cent, compared with 6.9 per cent in the most affluent parts of the country."
+ the idea of "predicting grades" for admissions or to accomodate extenuating circumstances for exam absences is nothing new. The challenge was doing that at scale & allowing for fair appeals.
Good thread on algo design flaws & procedural issues here:
Good thread on algo design flaws & procedural issues here:
+ several replies mentioning how things like this prove how pandemic measures often make circumstances for the disadvantaged in education even worse.
That's right. For ex., online learning lowers attendance at low income schools, while increasing attendance at well-off schools.
That's right. For ex., online learning lowers attendance at low income schools, while increasing attendance at well-off schools.
@themarkup investigation is very thorough: themarkup.org/coronavirus/20…
"students suffered technical problems with their issued laptops,... For others, this was the first computer in their homes, so they shared it with family members. And there were kids who never signed on ..."
"students suffered technical problems with their issued laptops,... For others, this was the first computer in their homes, so they shared it with family members. And there were kids who never signed on ..."
That being said - not sure if this means we should rush into opening schools in the Fall, as some are implying.
I think it means we should re-examine the meritocracy myth in education and be kinder & more accommodating to lower income students when designing pandemic responses.
I think it means we should re-examine the meritocracy myth in education and be kinder & more accommodating to lower income students when designing pandemic responses.
