Prediction of Student Major Selection at High School Using a Machine Learning Approach

The primary objective of this research was to develop and evaluate a machine learning prediction system that matches Senior High School (SMA) Nusa Putra Kota Tangerang students with their potential school majors based on their academic interests and performance levels. This research method employs machine learning algorithms, including Random Forest, Support Vector Machine (SVM), logistic regression, K-Nearest Neighbor (K-NN), and Naive Bayes, using academic records, interest tests, and questionnaires for data collection. The data was processed and analyzed to train and test the algorithm. The findings of this study indicate that the Random Forest algorithm achieved the best performance among the models, with an accuracy of 85%, a precision of 82%, a recall of 88%, and an AUC score of 0.92. The factors that affected the prediction of major selection were Grade XII Mathematics scores and Science Interest Test results. The research implications suggest that Random Forest technology within Machine Learning (ML) enhances major selection accuracy while promoting fairness, providing superior educational choices and increased student satisfaction. Future studies should investigate additional factors that influence this phenomenon.