Databases and Information Systems Commons^™

Machine Learning To Predict College Course Success, Anthony R.Y. Dalton, Justin Beer, Sriharshasai Kommanapalli, James S. Lanich Ph.D.

SMU Data Science Review

In this paper, we present an analysis of the predictive ability of machine learning on the success of students in college courses in a California Community College. The California Legislature passed assembly bill 705 in order to place students in non-remedial coursework, based on high school transcripts, to increase college completion. We utilize machine learning methods on de-identified student high school transcript data to create predictive algorithms on whether or not the student will be successful in college-level English and Mathematics coursework. To satisfy the bill’s requirements, we first use exploratory data analysis on applicable transcript variables. Then we use …