Multidimensional Item Response Theory (MIRT) has been widely used in educational and psychological assessments. It estimates multiple constructs simultaneously and models the correlations among latent constructs. While it provides more accurate results, the unidimensional IRT model is still dominant in real applications. One major reason is that…

The research problem addressed in this study is that racial bias programmed into predictive algorithm recommendations negatively impacts students in historically underrepresented groups. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the perception of algorithm accuracy among data professionals in higher education and explore the…

With the rise in popularity of social media and e-commerce platforms, "discrete math" is at the heart of our online experiences, playing a front-end role in the recommendation of what to click, watch, or buy, or who to follow or friend, as well as a back-end role in data storage, access, and transfer. This thesis focuses on two such…

The rapid advancement of powerful Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT and Llama, has revolutionized the world by bringing new creative possibilities and enhancing productivity. However, these advancements also pose significant challenges and risks, including the potential for misuse in the form of fake news, academic dishonesty,…

When the purpose and meaning of grades is not well-defined by an organization, there is a disconnect between curricular/assessment practices and student engagement. This study sought to investigate origins and find solutions in regards to discerning a student's knowledge and mastery of a subject and how this is reflected in the grade, and how…

Predicting students' performance to identify which students are at risk of receiving a D/Fail/Withdraw (DFW) grade and ensuring their timely graduation is not just desirable but also necessary in most educational entities. In the US, not only is the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) major becoming less popular among…

The digital transformation in educational assessment has led to the proliferation of large-scale data, offering unprecedented opportunities to enhance language learning, and testing through machine learning (ML) techniques. Drawing on the extensive data generated by online English language assessments, this dissertation investigates the efficacy…

Accurate placement into an initial college mathematics course is a key step toward the successful completion of college mathematics and, eventually, a college degree. Conversely, misplacement in mathematics may lead to a reduced likelihood of course completion and degree attainment. This study investigated the ability of two placement models to…