A review of learning analytics opportunities and challenges for K-12 education

Use of learning analytics to improve educational outcomes is a growing area of research. While learning analytics research has been more prevalent in higher education contexts, this study presents findings from a qualitative metasynthesis of 47 research publications related to opportunities and challenges relevant to learning analytics design, implementation, and research at the PK-12 level. Our findings indicate that, while many see the educational benefits of learning analytics (e.g., more equitable instruction, individualized learning, enhanced assessment for learning); others remain unconvinced by a lack of evidence of improved outcomes and concerned about persistent challenges and potentially harmful impacts (e.g., infringement on users’ privacy, misuse or misinterpretation of data by educators). We conclude by considering implications for mathematics education stemming from our analysis of learning analytics and posing questions to shape future research and key developments in mathematics education as learning analytics become more prevalent.