Gevritz School alumna Dr. Nida Rinthapol won the Best Presentation award at the California Association for Institutional Research (CAIR) conference for presentation “Data Mining to Identify Grading Practices.” The award is the largest regional IR conference award and includes an invitation to present at the nation-wide AIR conference in Washington, D.C., May 29 - June 2, 2017.
Rinthapol received her Ph.D. in Education from GGSE in 2012. Currently, she serves as the Associate Director for Data Resources at UCLA. Her award winning presentation featured work from Dr. Rinthapol’s research with colleague Kelly Wahl. The collaborative research effort explored how k-means cluster analysis can reveal contrasting patterns in the distribution of letter grades among large course offerings. Their findings showed that norm-referenced grading practices exacerbate an existing achievement gap, while a criterion-referenced grading approach enhances student learning and overall success in school.
Rinthapol is motivated to share her research with the GGSE community to highlight appropriate grading practices in order to maximize student achievement. Since the research utilized a sample of UC students, the findings are especially relevant to UC Santa Barbara faculty and students.
The California Association for Institutional Research (CAIR) is dedicated to the fostering of unity and cooperation among those interested in post-secondary education and institutions. CAIR provides a forum for tackling problems related to institutional research, as well as professional development for people dedicated to institutional research.