An international, collaborative vision for adaptive diagnostics: Rethinking student readiness скачать в хорошем качестве

An international, collaborative vision for adaptive diagnostics: Rethinking student readiness

Alison Reddy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA Across higher education systems worldwide, students’ mathematical readiness for first-year university study remains a persistent challenge, particularly in the transition from secondary education to tertiary mathematics and statistics. While national contexts vary, a common pattern emerges: many students enter university with uneven preparation in foundational concepts, resulting in increased support needs, learning gaps, and, in some cases, attrition. This talk aims to co-develop and pilot a limited online adaptive diagnostic focused on a common set of competencies, using the proof-of-concept phase to spark interest and recruit partners for an international collaboration on first-year mathematics readiness. Building on growing evidence of the value of adaptive diagnostics in higher education, the initiative focuses on a common set of core competencies while allowing for local institutional fit. The tool is designed to serve two purposes: as a diagnostic and support mechanism providing individualized feedback for students and actionable insights for educators, and as a benchmarking instrument enabling cross-institutional and cross-national comparisons of student readiness, progression, and intervention effectiveness. The proposed pilot involves a small number of institutions across four countries (USA, Ireland, Australia, and South Africa), focusing on key barrier concepts such as algebra, functions, data interpretation, and mathematical reasoning. The talk outlines the rationale, design principles, implementation plan, and longer-term vision, and explicitly invites discussion and collaboration in this under-researched yet strategically important area of international mathematics education.