{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,16]],"date-time":"2026-04-16T22:14:22Z","timestamp":1776377662640,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,8]],"date-time":"2025-10-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1759881600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Equipment Data Security and Guarantee Technology, Ministry of Education","award":["GDZB2024050100"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["GDZB2024050100"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005046","name":"Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["PL2024G009"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PL2024G009"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005046","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"Basic Research Support Program for Outstanding Young Teachers in Provincial Undergraduate Universities of Heilongjiang Province","award":["YQJH2024116"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["YQJH2024116"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Symmetry"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Student exam pass prediction (EPP) is a key task in educational assessment and can help teachers identify students\u2019 learning obstacles in a timely manner and optimize teaching strategies. However, existing EPP models, although capable of providing quantitative analysis, suffer from issues such as complex algorithms, poor interpretability, and unstable accuracy. Moreover, the evaluation process is opaque, making it difficult for teachers to understand the basis for scoring. To address this, this paper proposes an approximate belief rule base (ABRB-a) student examination passing prediction method based on adaptive reference point selection using symmetry. Firstly, a random forest method based on cross-validation is adopted, introducing intelligent preprocessing and adaptive tuning to achieve precise screening of multi-attribute features. Secondly, reference points are automatically generated through hierarchical clustering algorithms, overcoming the limitations of traditional methods that rely on prior expert knowledge. By organically combining IF-THEN rules with evidential reasoning (ER), a traceable decision-making chain is constructed. Finally, a projection covariance matrix adaptive evolution strategy (P-CMA-ES-M) with Mahalanobis distance constraints is introduced, significantly improving the stability and accuracy of parameter optimization. Through experimental analysis, the ABRB-a model demonstrates significant advantages over existing models in terms of accuracy and interpretability.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/sym17101687","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,8]],"date-time":"2025-10-08T14:51:13Z","timestamp":1759935073000},"page":"1687","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["An Approximate Belief Rule Base Student Examination Passing Prediction Method Based on Adaptive Reference Point Selection Using Symmetry"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-3489-0275","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jingying","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kangle","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Computer and Mathematics, Harbin Finance University, Harbin 150030, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hailong","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Cuiping","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jinsong","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Computer and Mathematics, Harbin Finance University, Harbin 150030, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Al-Shehri, H., Al-Qarni, A., Al-Saati, L., Batoaq, A., Badukhen, H., Alrashed, S., Alhiyafi, J., and Olatunji, S.O. 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