Predictive Analytics Can Change Exams

Big data is revolutionizing nearly every industry and aspects of our lives.  The education sector will not be free from change due to big data.  Every student leaves a trail of data behind them, whether it is how long they take to answer a question, which questions they skip on exam, how much time was put into studying and even what their heart rate was while taking the exam.  Education institutions can use all of this data to create customized learning programs that will there for produce better educated students.  Creating a customized program is definitely difficult but algorithms will help institutions be able to create personalized programs to boost performance and increase engagement.

One interesting thing that has been discussed in regards to big data and education is if predictive analytics would eventually replace exams.  By studying and collecting the data from students, in theory, using predictive analytics, schools would be able to predict whether or not students would pass exams, potentially making them obsolete.  This is something really interesting, considering a lot of students don’t test well.  The goal of education is to learn, and currently the only way to know if a student learned is to give them an exam.  If the education sector can figure out how to use big data to get rid of exams I believe it can open the door for much more effective learning for students and more personalized learning programs.