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This is what we're working on building at AutoMark (https://automark.io https://automark.io). We're currently building grading tools for teachers, but eventuall

This is what we're working on building at AutoMark (https://automark.io https://automark.io). We're currently building grading tools for teachers, but eventually want to build out a tool to accurately monitor a student's performance over time. There's a lot of potential for AI to disrupt the education system from high school to college to a career. Currently, a GPA and a few test scores (SAT, ACT, etc) are the most in depth view into a student's high school performance that colleges have, but in the future, we hope to see continuous tests throughout high school that don't just show a single letter/number, but a holistic view of a student's progress, effort, etc. (Obviously the data should be controlled by the student) These could also help a student decide where to focus their study efforts.

eganist 3y ago
> eventually want to build out a tool to accurately monitor a student's performance over time. How does AutoMark account for disparities in quality of education?
- jmeyer2k 3y ago
  This is a very hard problem to solve - nobody has successfully solved it before. It's not just a practical problem, because there are also a lot of political motivators. It's difficult to get districts to adopt new technologies, and teachers have a way they already like to teach. There are already some great quality resources online to learn subjects like math, history, and science, but we believe the missing piece is grading - you're never actually evaluated whether you learned something online. We think by giving students unlimited practice and feedback, along with quality learning materials, we can work on chipping away at this issue. AI will allow scaling access to quality tutoring, practice, and exams, all of which significantly improve eduction (currently, this costs $40-$X00/hr, but will cost much less with AI assistance). It's definitely not a quick fix to solve the issue of instructional quality.
- polski-g 3y ago
  School quality has no impact in outcomes: https://web.archive.org/web/20161114182009/http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lab/reports/12-14full.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20161114182009/http://legis.wisc...
  - blharr 3y ago
    That seems like a really bold claim that I was excited to read about in the source. But this seems like it is only saying that for one school district and one particular choice program, they weren't able to see a difference on a test.
ecshafer 3y ago
SAT And ACT and other standardized tests are the single best thing for giving poor students a leg up against rich students. We should be putting more emphasis on those tests. A poor but smart student can study for a test and do well on it, while they can not have continuous tutoring throughout school, paid grad students to do or proofread their homework, or extracurriculars that cost more than their parents pretax income. Your business is selling an advantage to the rich students coupled with increasing student stress throughout school. Your "holistic" view can't account for "students grades are slipping because they were sleeping in their friends basement after their parent killed another parent" or "students grades are slipping because they are working 40 hours a week, illegally, at 14", but it will holistically show "student got a B+ so their dad who makes $500k a year hired a tutor for 10 hours a week".
- meroes 3y ago
  It’s still paying in time for a poor person. The wealthy hire an SAT tutor for a hundred+ an hour to bump their kid’s scores up by a third for maybe 20 hours of work. The poor student will spend much more time. It’s like many things where the poor pay in time rather than money.
  - slily 3y ago
    Poor people's parents don't have the money to bring them to vacations, enlist a violin teacher or drive them to baseball on the weekends, so clearly they have more time to allocate to studying and thus are advantaged. Conclusion: do away with meritocracy and just exclude poor people altogether. Did I get the "logic" right? Of course put this way it can't be valid because that wouldn't support the American Neomarxist delusion, sorry I meant worldview.
    - blharr 3y ago
      I really don't get how the context follows through on your point here. Music, sports, and travel all have been shown to increase your mental health and thinking capabilities. All I get is that if you start from an extremely unfounded point you'll get to the wrong solution. But that doesn't say anything about the points people are making here
aaomidi 3y ago
Please think about the ethics of what you’re about to unleash into the world.
- germinalphrase 3y ago
  Can you be more specific? What is your ethical concern?
  - aaomidi 3y ago
    From what I’m reading, this is an unprecedented level of surveillance on students. We’re already in a mental health crisis for students. I do not think adding more surveillance is going to do good there. I may be wrong, but I hope the founders have thought a lot about this and considered what negative impacts, if any, this will have of students.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
UberFly 3y ago
"accurately monitor a student's performance over time" How would it go about monitoring the students?
BriggyDwiggs42 3y ago
I’m so glad I’m past high school so that I won’t be labeled and tracked like a piece of grocery store meat

eganist 3y ago

> eventually want to build out a tool to accurately monitor a student's performance over time. How does AutoMark account for disparities in quality of education?

jmeyer2k 3y ago
This is a very hard problem to solve - nobody has successfully solved it before. It's not just a practical problem, because there are also a lot of political motivators. It's difficult to get districts to adopt new technologies, and teachers have a way they already like to teach. There are already some great quality resources online to learn subjects like math, history, and science, but we believe the missing piece is grading - you're never actually evaluated whether you learned something online. We think by giving students unlimited practice and feedback, along with quality learning materials, we can work on chipping away at this issue. AI will allow scaling access to quality tutoring, practice, and exams, all of which significantly improve eduction (currently, this costs $40-$X00/hr, but will cost much less with AI assistance). It's definitely not a quick fix to solve the issue of instructional quality.
polski-g 3y ago
School quality has no impact in outcomes: https://web.archive.org/web/20161114182009/http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lab/reports/12-14full.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20161114182009/http://legis.wisc...
- blharr 3y ago
  That seems like a really bold claim that I was excited to read about in the source. But this seems like it is only saying that for one school district and one particular choice program, they weren't able to see a difference on a test.

ecshafer 3y ago

SAT And ACT and other standardized tests are the single best thing for giving poor students a leg up against rich students. We should be putting more emphasis on those tests. A poor but smart student can study for a test and do well on it, while they can not have continuous tutoring throughout school, paid grad students to do or proofread their homework, or extracurriculars that cost more than their parents pretax income. Your business is selling an advantage to the rich students coupled with increasing student stress throughout school. Your "holistic" view can't account for "students grades are slipping because they were sleeping in their friends basement after their parent killed another parent" or "students grades are slipping because they are working 40 hours a week, illegally, at 14", but it will holistically show "student got a B+ so their dad who makes $500k a year hired a tutor for 10 hours a week".

meroes 3y ago
It’s still paying in time for a poor person. The wealthy hire an SAT tutor for a hundred+ an hour to bump their kid’s scores up by a third for maybe 20 hours of work. The poor student will spend much more time. It’s like many things where the poor pay in time rather than money.
- slily 3y ago
  Poor people's parents don't have the money to bring them to vacations, enlist a violin teacher or drive them to baseball on the weekends, so clearly they have more time to allocate to studying and thus are advantaged. Conclusion: do away with meritocracy and just exclude poor people altogether. Did I get the "logic" right? Of course put this way it can't be valid because that wouldn't support the American Neomarxist delusion, sorry I meant worldview.
  - blharr 3y ago
    I really don't get how the context follows through on your point here. Music, sports, and travel all have been shown to increase your mental health and thinking capabilities. All I get is that if you start from an extremely unfounded point you'll get to the wrong solution. But that doesn't say anything about the points people are making here

aaomidi 3y ago

Please think about the ethics of what you’re about to unleash into the world.

germinalphrase 3y ago
Can you be more specific? What is your ethical concern?
- aaomidi 3y ago
  From what I’m reading, this is an unprecedented level of surveillance on students. We’re already in a mental health crisis for students. I do not think adding more surveillance is going to do good there. I may be wrong, but I hope the founders have thought a lot about this and considered what negative impacts, if any, this will have of students.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

UberFly 3y ago

"accurately monitor a student's performance over time" How would it go about monitoring the students?

BriggyDwiggs42 3y ago

I’m so glad I’m past high school so that I won’t be labeled and tracked like a piece of grocery store meat