In the ever-evolving landscape of test preparation, a new player has sprouted on the scene – artificial intelligence.
At the forefront of this movement is a Korean start-up, Riiid, founded by YJ Jang, a graduate of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
Riiid has already made a name for itself in the Asian test-prep market for the TOEIC, a measure of English proficiency in the business world.
Now, the company has set its sights on the American market with an SAT and ACT prep system called R.Test.
A.I. technology, with its mimicry of the networks of neurons in the human brain, has the potential to revolutionize the way educators approach their craft.
“R.Test makes it easy for students to solve practice problems, as well as read the explanations to help fill gaps in knowledge,” said Kelly Jung, a 9th-grade student at Lighthouse International School in Korea who has tried the product.
“The post-test analysis was the most helpful part of the test, as it helped highlight both my weaknesses and strengths, allowing me to streamline my studying moving forward."
This is not the first time the world has seen the integration of technology in the classroom. In the 1960s, the earliest forms of computer tutoring systems were developed, but their prohibitive cost and lack of widespread access limited their impact.
Decades later, rule-based A.I. systems were implemented, but they failed to live up to their potential due to scalability issues and the high cost of programming extensive domain expertise.
It was at Berkeley where Jang was introduced to the game-changing potential of deep learning. This form of A.I. allows algorithms to learn on their own, drawing from vast amounts of data.
Jang recognized the implications of this technology for education, and upon returning to Korea, he founded Riiid in 2014.
The company's team of data scientists has developed A.I. algorithms that track student performance, predict scores and anticipate when students may disengage.
Through the use of their popular test-prep app, Santa, Riiid has amassed one of the largest public education data sets in the world, known as EdNet.
However, the task of gathering enough data to make A.I. applicable to the broader field of education remains a challenge.
For now, Riiid focuses on the lucrative test-prep market, where data is more readily available, easily collectible, and has partnered with educational companies around the world to develop test-prep apps.
The company's success has attracted substantial investment from SoftBank's Vision Fund II, bringing Riiid's funding to over $250 million.
With the upcoming release of their A.I.-powered R.test platform for college entrance exams, Riiid has the potential to drastically change the way students prepare for their future.
While there is no shortage of SAT or ACT test-prep offerings, none assess students based on immediate data.
Khan Academy’s SAT test prep, for example, connects to College Board, the administrator of the SAT, and assesses student weaknesses based on their last test – usually the PSAT. But that data can be months old.
R.Test relies on live data collected as students use the system. With the R.Test, students can quickly get their predicted scores for the full test by just answering 30 questions and learning actionable insights that include weaknesses and even exam habits.
R.Test is “very targeted to your current work,” noted Oscar Torres, a high school math teacher in Chicago who has tried Riiid’s system. “That's what I liked.”
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