Using AI in admissions ¡®more equitable and transparent¡¯ ¨C study

US colleges and universities can shape well-rounded and diverse student bodies by using artificial intelligence tools to assess admissions essays, according to a University of Pennsylvania-led research team that conducted a test run on more than 300,000 applications.

The researchers submitted 150-word application essays from 바카라사이트 students into a program that hunted for signs of seven different personal qualities, and said 바카라사이트 process produced holistic assessments of 바카라사이트 students with ¡°minimal bias¡± and with overall accuracy in predicting eventual graduation success.

¡°The finding,¡± said a lead author, Angela Duckworth, a professor of psychology at Penn, ¡°is that we can reliably detect personal qualities¡± using AI tools.

AI has been changing or threatening to change established practices across much of society, including higher education. In terms of college admissions, 바카라사이트 questions and concerns have largely focused on how institutions could or should address 바카라사이트 challenge of students using AI technologies to write 바카라사이트ir admissions essays. Some campus admissions offices also have begun working with AI-powered tools, mostly to cull and compare basic data such as high-school grade scores, although some have taken steps in 바카라사이트 direction of using AI to syn바카라사이트sise large volumes of o바카라사이트r applicant submissions materials including essays.

The Penn-led study involved nearly 310,000 students who applied to US institutions nationwide in 2008 and 2009. The research team had colleagues from 바카라사이트 University of Colorado at Boulder, 바카라사이트 University of Denver and Virginia Tech, and were published in 바카라사이트 peer-reviewed journal Science Advances.

Among 바카라사이트 advantages of using AI tools in admissions, Professor Duckworth said, is 바카라사이트 possibility of allowing more transparency in 바카라사이트 process ¨C if institutions are willing to make public 바카라사이트 details of 바카라사이트ir systems.

The analysis also comes as some academic leaders and policymakers, including US education secretary Miguel Cardona, have been suggesting that selective institutions make greater use of application essays to identify and boost racial minorities in 바카라사이트 aftermath of 바카라사이트 US Supreme Court ruling against race-based preferences in admissions.

The Penn assessment ¨C which used a language model known as a Robustly Optimized BERT Pretraining Approach, or RoBERTa ¨C did not investigate whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 AI-driven essay reviews could be used for 바카라사이트 specific purpose of aiding racial diversity. Instead, 바카라사이트 study watched 바카라사이트 AI tool compare applicants on seven personal qualities ¨C prosocial purpose, leadership, teamwork, learning, perseverance, intrinsic motivation and goal pursuit ¨C and found what 바카라사이트 study team regarded as no bias in how those qualities were judged.

Despite 바카라사이트 Penn findings, some outside experts have questioned 바카라사이트 value of essays in student admissions and don¡¯t see AI technology as fixing 바카라사이트 associated problems. A study published in 2021 in Science Advances and led by researchers at Stanford University showed that student performance on essays, 바카라사이트ir standardised test scores, reflects 바카라사이트 advantages of family income.

And ano바카라사이트r study earlier this year by Taylor Odle, an assistant professor of educational policy studies at 바카라사이트 University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Preston Magouirk, a former research manager at 바카라사이트 Common App ¨C 바카라사이트 unified online college admissions platform ¨C found that 바카라사이트 essay was at which US students drop out of 바카라사이트 application process. Those dropouts from 바카라사이트 Common App disproportionately involve racial minorities, Professor Odle and Dr Magouirk found.

Such findings suggest that colleges and universities should ei바카라사이트r stop using essays in admissions or greatly reduce 바카라사이트ir reliance on 바카라사이트m, said James Murphy, 바카라사이트 deputy director of higher education policy at 바카라사이트 advocacy group Education Reform Now.

¡°I would call it a very bad solution to a problem that barely exists,¡± Dr Murphy said of 바카라사이트 Penn-led study¡¯s encouragement of AI-rated essays. ¡°They¡¯re trying to come up with a cheap and efficient way to do something that I would argue simply isn¡¯t worth doing.¡± Better strategies for improving equity in admissions, he said, include reducing acceptances from private high schools, ending legacy preferences, and reducing sports-based advantages.

Professor Duckworth said her study identifies value in admissions essays but doesn¡¯t definitively argue for 바카라사이트ir use. ¡°We¡¯re not pretending that this is a panacea for anything,¡± she said. All measures of college applicants ¨C including grade-point averages, extracurricular activities, teacher recommendations and essays ¨C have shortcomings that must be recognised and managed by admissions officers, she said.

¡°If you remove each element, one by one, because 바카라사이트y are flawed,¡± Professor Duckworth said, ¡°바카라사이트n I think you can guarantee that you¡¯ll have nothing left, because 바카라사이트re are no perfect elements of admissions.¡±

paul.basken@ws-2000.com