Assessing mathematics learning achievement using hybrid rough set classifiers and multiple regression analysis

Education is recognized as the key to individual success. Particularly, elementary education is vital for providing students with basic literacy and numeracy, as well as establishing foundations in mathematics, language, science, geography, history, and other social sciences. Mathematics is fundamental to numerous fields with real life applications, including natural science, engineering, medicine, and social sciences; therefore, student mathematics-learning achievement (MLA) in elementary school is valuable. This study aims to eliminate wastage of educational resources and seek suitable hybrid models for application to education. This study proposes an integrated hybrid model based on rough set classifiers and multiple regression analysis and provides a new trial of such a hybrid model to process MLA problems for elementary schools and their teachers. The proposed model is illustrated by examining a dataset from an elementary school in Taiwan. The experimental results reveal that the proposed model outperforms the listing methods in both classification accuracy and standard deviation. The rough set LEM2 (Learning from Examples Module, version 2) algorithm generates a set of comprehensible decision rules that can be applied in a knowledge-based education system designed for interested parties. Consequently, the analytical results have important implications for strategies related to mathematics teaching/learning and support to achieve teaching goals related to mathematics education. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.