Academic Preparation and Postsecondary Remediation
Effect of Remediation on Student Outcomes
This project addresses critical questions about the impact of postsecondary remediation by examining the effects of math and English remediation using a unique dataset of approximately 28,000 students. To account for selection biases, the paper uses variation in remedial placement policies across institutions and the importance of proximity in college choice. The results suggest that students in remediation are more likely to persist in college in comparison to students with similar test scores and backgrounds who were not required to take the courses. They are also more likely to transfer to a higher-level college and to complete a bachelor's degree.
Calcagno, Juan Carlos and B. T. Long. (2008) “The Impact of Postsecondary Remediation Using a Regression Discontinuity Approach: Addressing Endogenous Sorting and Noncompliance.” National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Working Paper No. 14194.
Also available as a National Center for Postsecondary Research (NCPR) Working Paper (2008).
Calcagno, Juan Carlos and B. T. Long. (2009) “Evaluating the Impact of Remedial Education in Florida Community Colleges: A Quasi-Experimental Regression Discontinuity Design.” National Center for Postsecondary Research (NCPR) Policy Brief, August.
Long, B.T. and Juan Carlos Calcagno. “Does Remediation Help All Students? The Heterogeneous Effects of Postsecondary Developmental Courses.”
Remediation ~ Overview Pieces
Boatman, Angela, B. T. Long, and Eric Bettinger. (2013) “Student Supports: Developmental Education and Other Academic Programs.” Future of Children volume, Postsecondary Education in the U.S. Cecilia Rouse, Lisa Barrow, and Thomas Brock, Eds.
Long, B. T. and Angela Boatman. (2013) “The Role of Remediation and Developmental Courses in Access and Persistence.” In Anthony Jones and Laura Perna, Eds. The State of College Access and Completion: Improving College Success for Students from Underrepresented Groups. New York: Routledge Books.
A significant number of high school graduates, as well as older students, are underprepared for college-level coursework and require remedial or developmental courses. The costs of postsecondary remediation are substantial for students, institutions, and taxpayers. This chapter addresses what is known, as well as the limitations of that knowledge, regarding the impacts of remediation on student outcomes. It also outlines needs for future research, including the use of more rigorous research designs to better target causal impact, ways to utilize existing data for such analyses, continued improvements to the alignment of state secondary and postsecondary curricula and expectations.
Academic Preparation
Long, B. T. (2010) “High School Dropout Prevention and College Preparatory Programs.” In Phillip B. Levine and David J. Zimmerman, Eds. Targeting Investments in Children: Fighting Poverty When Resources are Limited. University of Chicago Press, Robin Hood Foundation, and the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Bound, John, Brad Hershbein, and B. T. Long. (2009) “Student reactions to Increasing College Competition.” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 23(4): 119–46. A longer version is available as National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Working Paper No. 15272.
Long, B. T. and Erin K. Riley. (2007) “Sending Signals to Students: The Role of Early Placement Testing in Improving Academic Preparation.” In Minding the Gap: Why Integrating High School with College Makes Sense and How to Do It. Cambridge: Harvard Education Press and Jobs for the Future.