Washington, April 18, 2025 —The American Educational Research Association (AERA) has announced the winners of the 2025 Palmer O. Johnson Memorial Award. The Palmer O. Johnson Memorial Award is presented annually in recognition of the most outstanding article published in an AERA journal.
The recipients are Denisa Gándara (University of Texas at Austin), Hadis Anahideh (University of Illinois, Chicago), Matthew P. Ison (Northern Illinois University), and Lorenzo Picchiarini (Interlake Mecalux) for their article, “ Inside the Black Box: Detecting and Mitigating Algorithmic Bias Across Racialized Groups in College Student-Success Prediction ,” published in AERA Open (Volume 10, July 2024).
Using nationally representative data and multiple machine learning approaches, the authors show that predictive models systematically used in higher education underperform for Black and Hispanic students, often misclassifying success and failure. This article exemplifies interdisciplinary inquiry—merging insights from data science, education policy, sociology, and racial equity studies—and offers an urgent call to action for institutions, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers using predictive analytics in student success who are committed to equity in data-driven decision-making.
AERA will honor the recipients at the Awards Ceremony Luncheon at the 2025 Annual Meeting in Denver on Thursday, April 24, from 11:40 am to 1:25 pm MT in the Colorado Convention Center. The winners of AERA’s other 2025 awards were announced on April 10.
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About AERA
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. Founded in 1916, AERA advances knowledge about education, encourages scholarly inquiry related to education, and promotes the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. Find AERA on Facebook , X , LinkedIn , Instagram , Threads , and Bluesky .