Paper short abstract:

Predictive Analytics or Advanced Analytics is relatively new in education. Used to profile and track students to increase retention and performance, the use of technology promises to transform education. The paper focuses on the promises and problems of attempting to "predict" students' abilities.

Paper long abstract:

Predictive Analytics or Advanced Analytics is relatively new in education. As more and more students take online courses and more and more brick-and-mortar schools adopt the use of tablets, digital texts, and supplemental online resources, access to data from and for students is quickly increasing. Such data is used to maximize student success. While there is much excitement at the potential usefulness and effectiveness of predictive analytics in education, there is little research and discussion on the potential issues and challenges. Privacy issues notwithstanding, issues such as the perpetuation of bias, the meaning of "student success," and the disempowerment of learners are critical areas of concern that the paper addresses.