Identification of student achievement and academic profile in the Linear Algebra course: An analysis using the Rasch model

There has been great concern placed on the declining level of mathematical comprehension among engineering students. Earlier identification and classification of the students proves to be vital for future actions. Students profiling is important for any institution especially when the educator seeks to identify the factors of strengths and weaknessess of their students towards any subject knowledge. This paper presents an analysis of 215 students´ profiling and Linear Algebra results for semester 1 Academic Session of 2010/2011 from the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment (FKAB), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) using the Rasch modeling technique. Students profiling which consists of gender, department, programme, pre-university qualifications and results are used as variables in this study. Students´ final results of the Linear Algebra course are also considered as another variable. The major finding was highlighted to be the variables of pre-university qualification and sex, where students with Malaysia Higher School Certificate (STPM) holder and male students have been found to be performing well in this course, as comparison is being drawn to other qualifications and gender.