Develop effective learning environments and approaches to student support and guidance
Methods for evaluating the effectiveness of teaching
Promote participation in higher education and equality of opportunity for learners
Learning analytics involves collecting and interpreting data about students’ learning activity, progress and performance. In a unit, this might include quiz attempts, assessment submissions, discussion activity, video engagement, resource use, attendance, practice-task results, or dashboard reports. For educators, the value is not the data itself. The value is using data to support teaching decisions: who may need help, what students are misunderstanding, when students are falling behind, and how the next learning activity or feedback message could be improved.
Meta-analytic evidence suggests that learning analytics interventions can improve students’ academic performance and learning outcomes. Kokoç et al. (2025) found a small-to-moderate positive effect on academic performance across 23 studies, with stronger effects in higher education than K–12. Liu et al. (2025) found a moderate overall effect on learning outcomes, with the strongest effects for knowledge acquisition and smaller effects for cognitive skills and social-emotional outcomes.
The most important finding is that the type of intervention matters. In Liu et al. (2025), simply providing information to learners had no significant effect, while teacher-to-student messages, automated feedback, learner support, visualisation, and personalisation were more useful. In Kokoç et al. (2025), combinations of text and visualisation were stronger than visualisation alone. This suggests that academics should not assume dashboards improve learning by themselves.
Higher education evidence is promising but still uneven. Kokoç et al. (2025) found a higher education effect of g = 0.430, but the overall evidence base had high heterogeneity. Banihashem et al.’s (2022) higher education review shows that learning analytics can support feedback practices, but also confirms that the field is still developing and that implementation needs to be guided by pedagogical purpose.
The evidence comes from two recent meta-analyses of learning analytics interventions and one higher education systematic review of learning analytics for feedback. Kokoç et al. (2025) focused on academic performance. Liu et al. (2025) examined broader learning outcomes, including knowledge acquisition, cognitive skills and social-emotional outcomes. Banihashem et al. (2022) reviewed how learning analytics is used to enhance feedback practices in higher education.
Banihashem, S. K., Noroozi, O., van Ginkel, S., Macfadyen, L. P., & Biemans, H. J. A. (2022). A systematic review of the role of learning analytics in enhancing feedback practices in higher education. Educational Research Review, 37, Article 100489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2022.100489
Kokoç, M., Bütüner, S. Ö., & Güler, M. (2025). A meta-analysis on the effect of learning analytics interventions on students’ academic performance. Journal of Research on Technology in Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2025.2536571
Liu, Y., Wang, W., & Xu, E. (2025). The effectiveness of learning analytics-based interventions in enhancing students’ learning effect: A meta-analysis of empirical studies. SAGE Open, 15(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251336707
