ERIC Number: ED671937
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Aug
Pages: 55
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Cramming: Short- and Long-Run Effects. EdWorkingPaper No. 21-444
Michael Gilraine; Jeffrey Penney
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
An administrative rule allowed students who failed an exam to retake it shortly after, triggering strong `teach to the test' incentives to raise these students' test scores for the retake. We develop a model that accounts for truncation and find that these students score 0.14 standard deviations higher on the retest. Using a regression discontinuity design, we estimate thirty percent of these gains persist to the following year. These results provide evidence that test-focused instruction or `cramming' raises contemporaneous performance, but a large portion of these gains fade-out. Our findings highlight that persistence should be accounted for when comparing educational interventions.
Descriptors: Tests, Models, Scores, Test Coaching, Test Preparation, Standardized Tests, Repetition, Testing, Academic Achievement, Elementary School Students, Middle School Students, Mathematics, Language Arts, Data Analysis, College Entrance Examinations, Aptitude Tests, High Schools
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: annenberg@brown.edu; Web site: https://annenberg.brown.edu/
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: SAT (College Admission Test); Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A