Geospatial Analysis of Higher Education Students’ Critical-Thinking Skills

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 3:45 pm - Gold 4
  In Roundtable Session: RT2: Quantitative Advances and Approaches to Research on Inclusion, Equity, Educational Disparities and Student Success

Abstract

This study investigates regional disparities in critical-thinking skills among higher education students in the United States from over 80,000 exiting students who completed a performance-based assessment of critical-thinking. Employing kriging (Brimicombe, 2000; Isaaks and Srivastava, 1989), a geospatial statistical method, regional clusters of student performance were examined. Results reveal that students from less and non-selective institutions in certain regions demonstrate stronger critical-thinking skills than expected. These findings suggest that geospatial modeling can uncover hidden talent pools and promote equity in post-college opportunities. Geospatial analyses coupled with performance-based assessments can be used to inform educational policy and workforce development by identifying high-achieving students who may otherwise be overlooked.

Authors

• Doris Zahner, Council for Aid to Education

• Jouni Vettenranta, University of Jyväskylä

• Heidi M. Hyytinen, University of Helsinki

• Jani Ursin, University of Jyvaskyla