The problem we're solving: Institutions often struggle to place students in the appropriate class for their background, leading to poor learning outcomes, poor student retention, and high DFW rates. Issue: Existing commercial placement testing solutions offer “one-size-fits-all” tests that cannot be easily customized for the unique curriculum pathways and student populations at a particular institution
How Edfinity solves this problem: The Edfinity platform provides robust support for placement testing, allowing institutions to easily create custom, bespoke placement tests tailored to their needs. Edfinity provides institutions with ready-to-go placement tests that are curated by a team of math education experts. These tests are fully customizable and configurable, enabling institutions to tailor them in just a few hours to fit their specific curriculum pathways, student populations, and institutional needs.
Edfinity’s testing platform supports placement testing at scale for incoming students, integrated with your LMS.
Edfinity’s content authoring team works with faculty members to create tailored placement tests that are customized for your student population and curriculum pathways
Edfinity provides institutions with robust analytics and insights on performance.
At the institution's discretion, Edfinity supports placement tests with built in adaptive learning/remediation that helps students who are struggling get up-to-speed and ready for a particular course. This leads to better student learning outcomes, better retention, and lower DFW rates (edfinity.co/adaptivelearning).
Harvard University case study: We recently worked with Harvard University to develop a math placement testing solution tailored to their needs. The case study below was authored by a Harvard instructor and is unedited.
Background: Harvard University's Department of Mathematics offers two options for Calculus 1: a traditional one-semester approach and a two-semester course that incorporates precalculus topics. In the last ~10 years, a growing population of incoming students have calculus proficiency but significantly lack mastery of core precalculus concepts, which causes immediate difficulty across multiple courses that list this material as prerequisite. Historically, a June online placement exam has issued non-binding recommendations and students combined this with self-assessment and departmental advising to make first course selections.
Problem: Since 2020, we have witnessed a growing number of students whose precalculus and algebra fluency is severely limited and who struggle to self-assess to select their courses. This has resulted in an unprecedented rise in our D/F/W rate in both Calculus 1 options, though more significantly in our 1-semester course, as students overplaced when course selecting. This has the most substantial impact on students hoping to concentrate in quantitative fields, particularly coming from under-resourced high schools that were least able to navigate the effects of the pandemic.
Use of Edfinity: We authored a 23-question skill check to act as a verification of students' placement recommendations. It was proctored in-person with activation code and question randomization for students intent on taking math who were initially recommended for either Calc 1 course (~550 students). The skill check focused on critical algebra and precalculus concepts necessary for success and measured the current state of these skills. Results were used to issue more specific recommendations or a binding requirement to enroll in the 2-semester course or a new corequisite. The possible outcomes were: (1) required 2-semester+corequisite course, (2) required 2-semester course, (3) strongly recommended 2-semester course, (4) recommended 2-semester course, (5) student choice of course, (6) recommended 1-semester course.
Impact: We have been able to offer more detailed recommendations and requirements based on current student performance. Importantly, we identified students for whom 1-semester Calc 1 was not a workable option, given their precalculus performance, as well as a subset of students whose algebra performance indicated they would be best supported in our new corequisite course. Some students requested individual meetings to discuss results; sharing full transparency of our testing, individual performance, and expectations of the courses has allowed students to gain understanding of our courses and insight into the current state of their mathematical skills. Many have spoken highly of the skill check's information and its utility in making course selections in their first college math course.
Looking ahead: Our courses enter their first round of assessments in the next two weeks. We hope to see a decrease in low performers in the 1-semester Calc 1 course compared to last year.