Equitable Ability Estimation in Neurodivergent Student Populations with Zero-Inflated Learner Models

Abstract: At present, the educational data mining community lacks many tools needed for ensuring equitable ability estimation for Neurodivergent (ND) learners. On one hand, most learner models are susceptible to under-estimating ND ability since confounding contexts cannot be held accountable (eg consider dyslexia and text-heavy assessments), and on the other, few (if any) existing datasets are suited for appraising model and data bias in ND contexts. In this paper we attempt to model the relationships between context (delivery and response types) and performance of ND students with zero-inflated learner models. This approach facilitates simulation of several expected ND behavioural traits, provides equitable ability estimates across all student groups from generated datasets, increases interpretability confidence, and can significantly increase the quality of learning opportunities for ND students. Our approach consistently out-performs baselines in our experiments and can also be applied to many other learner modelling frameworks.