Bridging Socioeconomic Gaps with MOOCs: A Case of a Free Digital Preparation Course for the Psychometric Test in Israel

Higher education or lack of higher education effects many socioeconomic characteristics such as employment, income and social mobility. Increasing access and removing barriers to higher education is a key factor in allowing people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, to make significant change in their own lives.The psychometric test - the screening and entry test used by higher education institute in Israel (the equivalent of the US SATs) is one of the barriers standing between young people in Israel and higher education.Many factors contribute to the ability of an individual to pass this test, some of have nothing to do with ability or motivation. Factors regarding an individual's socioeconomic background affect the outcome of the test, and therefore the access to higher education.While 72% of all individuals how finished high school, belonging to the highest socioeconomic group in Israel, take the test, only 21% of the lowest socioeconomic group do so. The average gap between individuals from the highest and the lowest socioeconomic background is an unimaginable gap of 200 points (out of a possible score of 800 points). This figure means the difference between higher education and no higher education, and everything that stems from it.An industry of about 80,000,000$ (more than 250,000,000 ILS) a year has grown over the years, around preparation courses for the test, with an average coast of 2,500$ (8,000 ILS) per course, giving an unfair advantage to whomever can afford it - the already privileged groups of society.The Ministry of Social Equality in Israel has launched a free massive open online course designed to help university applicants prepare for the psychometric test. With a foreseen Return on Investment of over 605,000,000 ILS in the next 15 years, the course is designed to remove or at least lower one of the barriers to higher education, and promote equal opportunity.This article will elaborate on the reasons behind the decision to create a free open digital course by the government, designed to help learners prepare for the psychometric test. It will touch on the outcomes of the first course runs, and the ways in which the Ministry of Social Equality plans to reach relevant publics and mitigate the course to those publics with little to no experience with digital learning, language barriers, low digital literacy, and low self-efficacy.