Predictive Analytics in Education: Forecasting Success with SIS

The education industry has faced quite a disruption in recent years, urging institutes to take necessary measures to facilitate uninterrupted and smooth operations. Implementing modern tech-based solutions has been one of the significant action plans.

For instance, advanced tools like the student information system (SIS) have contributed immensely to strengthening core institutional processes. Moreover, the system’s built-in predictive analytics are integral to improved institutional practices.

What is predictive analytics in education?

Predictive analytics is an innovative technology that utilizes machine learning, data, and statistical algorithms. Besides, they analyze patterns in historical data and records to determine the possible outcomes in performance and behavior.

Educational institutions use tools with predictive analytics to gather, analyze, and interpret data to gain insights and make informed decisions. Consequently, it allows them to identify areas that require improvement.

Also, it provides helpful insights to develop appropriate strategies to enhance student learning habits. More importantly, teachers can use it to track students’ ongoing progress and address the following questions related to students' performance:

• What are the reasons behind student's underperformance?
• Why did they perform poorly?
• What will happen in the upcoming months?
• Will they succeed in attaining the learning outcomes?
• Which factors are responsible for a student’s success?
• What are the appropriate strategies to improve their performance?

Finding the answers to the above questions enables teachers to understand the core issues and figure out appropriate strategies.

Best Practices for Using Predictive Analytics

1. Streamlining Admissions

The admissions process is a comprehensive process that depends on teamwork and an accurate verification process. The admin staff must execute different formalities requiring multiple pieces of paperwork properly.

Carrying out these tasks manually takes a lot of time and effort; however, student information systems automate the entire process. Therefore, there is little or no manual intervention; instead, the system accelerates the process in the following way:

• Inquiry Management

The success of query resolution impacts the relationship between the institute, students and parents. Therefore, institutes benefit greatly from SIS as it provides a platform to handle volumes of inquiries.

In fact, predictive analytics helps identify whether the inquiries have increased in comparison to past years. The administrator can assess the likelihood of a student’s admission based on their particular queries.

• Application Tracking

It is challenging for school and college officials and administrators to track student applications manually, especially during admissions sessions. Therefore, a student information system is the ideal solution that ensures hassle-free student data management.

Students can complete the registration and application process digitally, enabling the admin to monitor their application status. Also, the students can determine whether their application has been approved or rejected depending on specific criteria.

• Application conversion prediction

SIS carries out historical data analysis, which allows institutes to identify major causes of drop rates from application to admission. Additionally, it provides data-driven insights to counselors, helping guide students and convert applicants into students.

2. Adapt and Personalize the Learning.

Students respond differently to teaching and learning material; some grasp the concepts faster than others. When some students don’t meet the set standards and performance criteria, they face disappointment.

Thankfully, teachers can make a big difference by employing personalized learning, which is a unique educational model. It includes instructional practices that allow teachers to support individual student needs through customized learning paths.

Nonetheless, it does not mean providing individualized lessons for each student; rather, it focuses on ensuring student autonomy and choice. In fact, it gives ownership of learning to students, in effect motivating them.

Furthermore, teachers can use tools like LMS to create a personalized learning environment and implement various techniques, such as:

• Competency-Based Learning

Competency-based learning, or education, is an educational approach that allows learners to move forward according to their pace. Their progress depends on their ability to master a skill or competency.

Also, it is an outcome-based teaching method that focuses on building competency and skills in varied areas. Therefore, it goes beyond the theoretical overloading of information and strives to provide students with practical experience.

• Blended Learning

A modern and the latest approach to hybrid or blended learning that combines online and in-person classes effortlessly. Moreover, this is where teachers can make the optimum use of the student information system.

For instance, they can use predictive analytics to evaluate and compare their students' performance effectively. Also, they can obtain insightful reports reflecting how students perform in online and offline assignments.

Besides, it is one of the most innovative techniques that provides flexibility and encourages self-directed learning.

3. Identification of At-Risk Students

Which students have been irregular? Which students have been frequent poor performers? Which subjects are major weak points for students? Addressing these questions is critical to resolving the issues facing at-risk students.

Who are at-risk students? The answer to the question lies in the students who are frequent absentees and poor performers. Besides, institutes have discovered a common pattern of these students dropping out.

Hence, developing a proper strategy in collaboration with teachers, administrators, and parents is the first step in the solution. Furthermore, they must utilize an appropriate e-tech tool for student data management.

Consequently, it will help the teacher keep track of attendance and academic performance simultaneously. Therefore, develop a proper action plan, including the following:

• Establish a necessary and healthy relationship with parents to identify the core issues facing students.
• Prioritize building a positive student-teacher relationship.
• Conduct one-to-one mentoring or teaching-learning sessions.
• Conduct ice-breaking sessions with students to help break the tension, enabling them to open up to teachers.

4. Enhance Student Engagement

What is the best way to engage students and motivate them in the learning process? There is no single way to answer the question, especially when there are so many unique solutions. Besides, a technique that might work for one student may not work for others.

Hence, it is ideal to implement varied approaches and pedagogies depending on the student's requirements and interests. Nonetheless, an ideal way to increase student engagement is by establishing a stimulating learning environment in the following ways:

• Brainstorm Sessions

Brainstorming is one of the words that one might see popping up now and then in the context of education, and for good reason. It relates to a group activity where students engage in collaborative problem resolution.

Consequently, they develop ideas, thoughts, and creative solutions to real-world issues, helping to boost their creative thinking skills. It is also an excellent method of evaluating their understanding of the subject matter and concepts.

• Quizzes

Conducting quizzes before and after classes helps to assess students' existing knowledge and post-class comprehension. Besides, conducting quizzes from time to time is a useful way to monitor their progress.

5. Strategic Assessments

Assessments for the sake of singularly assessing subject-related knowledge should not be the primary concern. On the contrary, teachers can conduct comprehensive assessments, helping to evaluate their skills and knowledge.

For example, formative assessments provide critical information about students' understanding levels and enable teachers to provide insightful feedback. In addition, it has other advantages, such as:

• Formative assessments help to address learning gaps; hence, teachers can provide suitable remediation.
• It helps clarify the learning goals.
• It provides teachers with the necessary information regarding the individual needs of the students.
• Reports and analytic data from tools like the LMS help to create a learning environment that engages and challenges a student.
• Teachers and students get real-time feedback from formative assessments, hence helping to close the learning gap.

6. Reaching Out to Vulnerable Students

A common approach has been to implement a standard pedagogy and expect students to excel irrespective of their capabilities. However, the education system shifted towards a learner-centric system.

Hence, identifying vulnerable students is a major responsibility of institutes; these students might have learning difficulties. Some of them might also suffer from mental health problems, such as anxiety issues.

Teachers can identify these students by observing their day-to-day behavior, rate of participation, and overall performance. For instance, they can use tech solutions and predictive analytics to execute all of the above.

Consequently, they can take remedial measures to address their issues and help students deal with them effectively.

7. Trends Identification

Which pedagogies work well? Which has been the most time-consuming to prepare and implement? Which activities did the students respond to most enthusiastically? These are some noteworthy questions that determine the student’s success.

Therefore, apart from identifying issues, teachers can use predictive analytics to evaluate the impact of particular strategies or interventions. For example, they can compare past data and gauge the expected outcomes, depending on set parameters.

As a result, it will help to predict interventions or pedagogies that have been most useful or ineffective. Institutes can continuously monitor the results and outcomes and establish policies and objectives to improve outcomes accordingly.