Notre Dame Researcher To Improve Testing For High Schoolers

SOUTH BEND, IN — The University of Notre Dame announced Ying Alison Cheng, an associate professor of psychology and fellow of the Institute for Educational Initiatives at the university, will lead a $1.4 million project funded by the Institute of Education Sciences to improve assessment testing for high school students. With the four-year award, Cheng will oversee the project that will develop the intelligent diagnostic assessment program (i-DAP) for high school statistics education, according to Notre Dame News.

According to the news report, Cheng will use the four-year award to work with Indiana high school students and teachers to develop and analyze data collected from the cloud-based program. The goal of i-DAP is to provide real-time feedback for high schoolers in non-advanced placement (AP) statistics courses and improve student engagement and learning of the subject.

In the news report, Cheng said, “The i-DAP will allow students to see their results immediately, including individual strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, the program will also show teachers how their class performed as a whole so they can apply the results to adjust their own pace or teaching strategy.” (Get Fishers and local news delivered straight to your inbox with the free Fishers Patch daily newsletter and breaking news alerts here and don't forget to 'like' Fishers Patch on Facebook).

The university added that according to Cheng, statistics is a field that is vital for both STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and non-STEM industries.

When it comes to creating the i-DAP system, the university said Cheng will work with Notre Dame’s Center for Social Research, a part of the Center for Research Computing, to develop back-end algorithms and use data mining techniques to provide feedback. The report notes how the students will be able to connect to learning module recommendations based on their test scores through networks, and compares this to how streaming services recommend shows and movies based on what you've previously watched.

Cheng previously created the AP Computerized Adaptive Testing program to evaluate students taking AP statistics courses, thanks to previous research funded by Cheng’s Faculty Early Career Development Program award from the National Science Foundation, according to the university.

“With this new project, we will be able to assess the diversity of ability that the non-AP population provides as well as identify how more engaged students are, since the AP population is already considered a highly motivated group of students,” said Cheng, according to Notre Dame News.

To see the collaborators for the i-DAP and more details about Cheng, her research and the project, view the entire report at news.nd.edu. Learn more about Cheng via psychology.nd.edu.

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