Unraveling K-12 standard alignment; Report on a new attempt

Abstract

We present the results of an experiment which indicate that automated alignment of electronic learning objects to educational standards may be more feasible than previously implied. We highlight some important deficiencies in existing alignment systems and formulate suggestions for improved future ones. We consider how the changing substance of newer educational standards, a multi-faceted view of standard alignment, and a more nuanced view of the `alignment' concept may bring the long-sought goal of automated standard alignment closer. We explore how lexical similarity of documents, a World+Method representation of semantics, and network-based analysis can yield promising results. We furthermore investigate the nature of false positives to better understand how validity of match is evaluated so as to better focus future alignment system development.