Running Head: ALGORITHMS IN EDUCATION 1

Algorithms in Education

Megan Bowie

Loyola University
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Algorithms, while invisible, are always around and can impact many factors, including

education. They play a big role in everyday life, as Hannah Fry states many times in her book

“Hello World Being Human in the Age of Algorithms.” The impacts can be both positive and

negative, creating small ripples in some situations and tidal waves in others. To best analyze

how algorithms can impact education, it’s best to look at schools as a whole and independent.

On a school level, algorithms are often used to get a big picture or view school(s) from

afar. Sometimes this means looking at a particular school overview, or maybe just looking at the

whole school system in a county or state. One common use of algorithms is to rank schools,

producing a list of more “desirable” schools from elementary to college levels. Kim found in her

research that many colleges rely so much on the rankings, that they begin to fund other aspects

both academic and non-academic, in order to become a more “desirable” school (Kim, 2018, p.

56). She goes on to outline the students as the main consumers and how the admissions are

directly impacted due to the school rankings. The better the school ranking, the better the

applicants/admissions (Kim, 2018, p. 56). The colleges that have the best rankings are easily the

most “prestigious” in the eyes of the public. The algorithms all act to rank the schools based on

things like: graduation rates, test scores, and more. After the schools are ranked and the top tier

comes out, those colleges soon have the best faculty hires, the biggest alumni support, and often

the best application pool to choose from for admittance (Kim, 2018, p.60). The algorithms aren’t

just in the rankings, though. In public schools, algorithms are used all over to determine where a

student is to go to school by assigning them based on their home address. Some states, though,

are allowing families to decide where they want students to go to school. In New Orleans, for

example, families were provided with the choice of where to send their children to school. They

could apply to schools of their choosing, which then lead to what exists today known as the
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“OneApp” application that families can use to rank their choices of schools for their child(ren) to

attend (Harris, 2015). The algorithm from the “OneApp” assigned students o their top school

choice in a “lottery” system. This means that some families get exactly what they want, while

others may not get their first or even second choice if they lose the lottery and choose more

desirable schools. Enrollment is frequently determined by algorithms, so a whole school’s

population can be impacted extremely easily. Fry mentions in her books that people tend to have

a “blind faith” regarding a lot of algorithms, so needless to say, many conflicts have began

arising much after the fact that were not in consideration during the enrollment process (Frey,

p.14). One other huge impact on schools from algorithms is funding. Funding for schools is

determined by a few algorithms. One part of the algorithm determines where and how much of

the local/tax-payer money comes. Another part, however, determines if the population of the

school warrants federal money due to a lack of socioeconomic status to a certain percent in the

school-zone. In many locations, schools have become underfunded and have even been

compared to third-world countries because of the inequality and physical facilities (Crampton,

2004). Due to this inequality created in funding, schools in Arizona were extremely unequitable.

While schools in wealthier areas had state-of-the-art facilities, like indoor swimming pools,

poorer areas lacked facilities like libraries (Crampton, 2004). Schools all over are impacted by

these algorithms both for the better and the worse.

These impacts start at the top on a national or state-level and usually trickle down to an

individual level. Schools, students, and teachers all feel the effects. Students must perform their

best to create those top-ranking schools. They must produce good test scores, as those directly

effect the data of a school. They must graduate on time, so that high schools have high

graduation rates. Students must also apply to “good” colleges and get accepted, so that high
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schools can boast about their college acceptances. On the flipside, though, students in federally

funded schools may get to experience tutoring, extra support, top-of-the-line technology, and

more state-of-the-art advances through federal program money to “level the playing field” due to

a lower socioeconomic population. Those students may get to receive free meals in school so

that they can concentrate more on learning with full stomachs. Students may even be in an area

where they get to apply to a school of their choice to attend. They may get to seek out a magnet

program that interests them or go to a charter school that has a focus more to their liking. On an

educator level, teachers may feel the pressure to produce high-testing classes. They may also

place more emphasis on college and career readiness to aim more students towards “success.” In

those federally funded programs, teachers may get more opportunities to give back to students in

after-school or before-school settings. They may be able to provide students with more small-

group support through extra resource staff. Teachers may or may not have the resources to help

their students access their learning, depending on funding. In schools with low-funding, teachers

may be stressing to find basic resources, such as texts, pencils, or technology. In the schools

with more funding, teachers may be exploring extra-learning opportunities or maybe just

different ones like “flipped learning” where students use a device outside of school to preview

their learning before a lesson.

It’s important that stakeholders be aware of how algorithms impact education, as they are

too affected. A stakeholder is anyone with a claim to education, including: students, parents, and

educators. Parents need to be aware of the reality of algorithms in education, as they are often

making the decisions for the children due to people following them without question. It’s a

parent’s job to be aware and even to question those algorithms at times. It’s also a student’s job

to be aware, as it is their learning and education on the line. Educators too need to know, so that
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they can do their jobs to the best of their abilities for the best of their students. At any time, it is

critical for students, parents, and educators to remembers that as stakeholders, they must always

advocate for the best education possible. If those people are unaware, then they cannot advocate

to the best of their abilities. Ignorance is not bliss, as the old saying always said. If someone is

not paying attention to a child’s education, then they may go their entire learning career without

receiving the best that they possibly can. Stakeholders need to be conscious so that no students

get lost in the big world of algorithms and the system of education.
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References

Crampton, F. E., Thompson, D. C., & Vesely, R. S. (2004). The Forgotten Side of School

Finance Equity: The Role of Infrastructure Funding in Student Success. NASSP

Bulletin,88(640), 29-52. doi:10.1177/019263650408864004

Fry, H. (2019). HELLO WORLD: Being human in the age of algorithms. S.l.: W W NORTON.

Harris, D. N., Valant, J., & Gross, B. (2015). The new orleans OneApp. Education Next, 15(4)

Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1709240695?accountid=231

Kim, J. (2017). The Functions and Dysfunctions of College Rankings: An Analysis of

Institutional Expenditure. Research in Higher Education,59(1), 54-87.

doi:10.1007/s11162-017-9455-1