You are here:

Early intervention in college classes and improved student outcomes
ARTICLE

, , University of South Carolina, United States ; , Boston College, United States

Economics of Education Review Volume 72, Number 1, ISSN 0272-7757 Publisher: Elsevier Ltd

Abstract

This research investigates the effectiveness of an early academic intervention in Principles of Economics courses at a large public university. After the end of the fourth week of classes, students who fell below a 70% threshold on a performance measure, or had an attendance rate below 75%, were referred to the university's Student Success Center for additional academic support. A referral consisted of students being informed of their status and being given optional assistance in course specific skills through tutoring, as well as training in general skills like time management and study skills. Using a regression discontinuity framework at the referral threshold, we find that the performance intervention improved student scores on common questions on the final exam by 6.5 to 7.5 percentage points for students at or near the performance threshold. The gains are particularly large for students who entered college with below average math placement scores. These results indicate that low-cost light-touch interventions may significantly affect student academic performance.

Citation

Gordanier, J., Hauk, W. & Sankaran, C. (2019). Early intervention in college classes and improved student outcomes. Economics of Education Review, 72(1), 23-29. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved August 10, 2024 from .

This record was imported from Economics of Education Review on June 3, 2019. Economics of Education Review is a publication of Elsevier.

Full text is availabe on Science Direct: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2019.05.003

Keywords

References

View References & Citations Map
  1. Angrist, J., Lang, D., & Oreopoulos, P. (2009). Incentives and services for college achievement: Evidence from a randomized trial. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(1), pp. 136-163.
  2. Arco-Tirado, J.L., Fernández-Martín, F.D., & Fernández-Balboa, J.-M. (2011). The impact of a peer-tutoring program on quality standards in higher education. Higher Education, 62(6), pp. 773-778.
  3. Becker, C.M., Rouse, C.E., & Mingyu, C. (2016). Can a summer make a difference? The impact of the American Economic Association Summer Program on minority student outcomes. Economics of Education Review, 53(2016), pp. 46-71.
  4. Bettinger, E.P., & Baker, R.B. (2014). The effects of student coaching: An evaluation of a randomized experiment in student advising. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 36(1), pp. 3-19.
  5. Bettinger, E., & Long, B.T. (2009). Addressing the needs of under-prepared students in higher education: Does college remediation work?. Journal of Human Resources, 44, pp. 736-771.
  6. Boatman, A., & Long, B.T. (2017). Does remediation work for all students? How the effects of postsecondary remedial and development courses vary by level of academic preparation. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis Available online: https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373717715708.
  7. Breneman, D.W., Abraham, A.A., & Hoxby, C.M. (1998). Remediation in higher education: Its extent and cost. Brookings papers on education policy, 1, pp. 359-383.
  8. Butcher, K.F., & Visher, M.G. (2013). The impact of a classroom-based guidance program on student performance in community college math classes. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 35(3), pp. 298-323.
  9. Calcagno, J., & Long, B. (2008). "The impact of postsecondary remediation using a regression discontinuity approach: Addressing endogenous sorting and noncompliance,” NBER Working Paper Series 14194, Cambridge, Massachusettes. Url:http://www.nber.org/papers/w14194.pdfAccessed 10/8/2017.
  10. Calonico, S., Cattaneo, M.D., Farrell, M.H., & Titiunik, R. (2017). rdrobust: Software for regression-discontinuity designs. The Stata Journal, 17(2), pp. 372-404.
  11. Card, D., & Giuliano, L. (2016). Can tracking raise the test scores of high-ability minority students?. American Economic Review, 106(10), pp. 2783-2816.
  12. Chen, Q., & Okediji, T.O. (2014). Incentive matters! The benefit of reminding students about their academic standing in introductory economics courses. The Journal of Economic Education, 45(1), pp. 11-24.
  13. Damgaard, M.T., & Nielsen, H.S. (2018). Nudging in education. Economics of Education Review.
  14. Dawson, P., van der Meer, J., Skalicky, J., & Cowley, K. (2014). On the effectiveness of supplemental instruction: A systematic review of supplemental instruction and peer-assisted study sessions literature between 2001 and 2010. Review of Educational Research, 84(4), pp. 609-639.
  15. Dobkin, C., Gil, R., & Marion, J. (2010). Skipping class in college and exam performance: Evidence from a regression discontinuity classroom experiment. Economics of Education Review, 29, pp. 566-575.
  16. Marburger, D.R. (2001). Absenteeism and undergraduate exam performance. The Journal of Economic Education, 32(2), pp. 99-109.
  17. Moss, B.G., & Yeaton, W.H. (2015). Failed warnings: Evaluating the impact of academic probation warning letters on student achievement. Evaluation Review, 39(5), pp. 501-524.
  18. Munley, V.G., Garvey, E., & McConnell, M.J. (2010). The effectiveness of peer tutoring on student achievement at the university level. American Economic Review, 100(2), pp. 277-282.
  19. Palmer, R.T., Maramba, D.C., & Elon Dancy, T. (2011). A qualitative investigation of factors promoting the retention and persistence of students of color in STEM. The Journal of Negro Education, 80(4), pp. 491-504.
  20. Paloyo, A.R., Rogan, S., & Siminski, P. (2016). The effect of supplemental instruction on academic performance: An encouragement design experiment. Economics of Education Review, 55, pp. 57-69.
  21. Parkinson, M. (2009). The effect of peer assisted learning support (PALS) on performance in mathematics and chemistry. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 46(4).
  22. Pugatch, T., & Wilson, N. (2018). Nudging study habits: A field experiment on peer tutoring in higher education. Economics of Education Review, 62, pp. 151-161.
  23. Sankaran, C., Al-Bahrani, A., & Williams, B. (2018). “Success in principles of economics courses: Measurement matters,” under review.
  24. Smith, B.O., White, D.R., Kuzyk, P.C., & Tierney, J.E. (2018). Improved grade outcomes with an e-mailed “grade nudge”. The Journal of Economic Education, 49(1), pp. 1-7.

These references have been extracted automatically and may have some errors. Signed in users can suggest corrections to these mistakes.

Suggest Corrections to References