Revealed: Durham modules ranked by student attainment in 2021-2022
This article demonstrates how accessing Freedom of Information requests can uncover granular academic performance data, highlighting the practical value of open_data in educational transparency. By analyzing undergraduate module attainment, the study reveals significant disparities in student achievement across different disciplines, such as Physics and English outperforming others, while Foundation years and specific language modules lag behind. This data allows stakeholders to identify trends and potential systemic issues within higher education institutions. The investigation further breaks down performance by academic year, showing that success rates vary widely even within specific year groups. For instance, certain first-year design modules saw no top grades awarded, whereas related business modules achieved near-universal excellence among peers. Similarly, final-year projects exhibit stark contrasts, with students in languages and computer science securing top marks at rates nearly triple those of their sports science counterparts. These variations suggest that assessment difficulty, teaching methods, or student preparation may heavily influence outcomes. Relevance to open_data lies in the ability to hold institutions accountable through released information. When raw data regarding grades and departmental performance is made publicly available, it empowers prospective students, researchers, and policymakers to make informed decisions. It also encourages universities to examine their own metrics, potentially leading to improvements in teaching standards and resource allocation to support underperforming areas.
Source: palatinate.org.ukPublished on 2024-07-21