Coronavirus has caused hindrance to our lives bringing it to a stop. We are bound to perform a major of our tasks at home. Worst of all are the students suffering during this pandemic. The educational system is undergoing a lot of struggles trying to combine education with technology and stay connected with students, providing them as much knowledge possible with bare resources.
An algorithm was introduced to the diploma students of International Baccalaureate, where almost 170,000 students registered to its two-year program, mainly from the U.S. It could predict the grades of students without actually appearing for the exam. The model was hastily created to evaluate the students when the Corona Virus shutdown was declared. Students usually regret the grades they score, but the foundation over which the model was build baffled both teachers and students. It was meant to calculate how much students would have scored for the springtime exam had the pandemic not prevented it. The system used the student’s grades on assignments and projects, and grades from past grads at their school to predict their score.
More than 15,000 students, parents, and teachers filed an online petition against the college. It was highly suspicious of how some students scored lower than expected marks which shocked the students who had their career planned. The program brought the whole whirl to their preparations and shattered their dreams. The foundation declined to answer questions about its system but said it had been checked against five years of past results and that disappointed students could use its existing appeals process, which comes with a fee. The foundation released summary statistics showing that this year’s average score was slightly higher than last year’s, and it says the distribution of grades was similar.
Many organizations and persons demanded the foundation to release the algorithm of the model for possible loopholes that might exist within it. People are questioning the design of the model and the tests performed on it. Since the outcome has created major controversy, the obvious reasons need to be left out.
IB uses a statistical formula which is one of the tech faults that needed to be corrected. The working of IB and the declaration of the exam results particularly proved harmful for the students to apply for colleges. Unlike other high school tests, IB results are supposed to reflect the students’ performance throughout the year, which can be particularly risky to select good colleges if the end outcome doesn’t reach the expectation. The students are given college admission on the basis of predicted grades before the final results are released.
Many students wait till November anticipating to improve their grades.
