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ERIC Number: EJ1292445
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1049-4820
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Comparing the Effectiveness of Two Remedial Mathematics Courses Using Modern Regression Discontinuity Techniques
Interactive Learning Environments, v29 n2 p247-269 2021
Studying the effectiveness of remedial courses in higher education has attracted a lot of interest from educational researchers and practitioners. Remediation is associated with significant economic and social costs while the results are usually dubious. In this paper, we apply a widely used method called Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD) to measure the effectiveness of two differently designed remedial mathematics courses at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Our large-scale study is based on data of almost 20,000 undergraduate students enrolled between 2010 and 2018. Using modern RDD tools in various settings, we study both the direct and longer-term effects of remediation; and find that the design of the remedial course matters a lot. We measured a statistically significant positive effect on subsequent academic achievement for both course designs; however, the magnitude of the effect differs substantially. We measured a higher effect for the remedial course that serves as an extra practice class for the university level calculus course than for traditional remediation. As a methodological novelty, we propose a novel alternative method to handle discrete running variable in the RDD setting. We also provide some suggestions on how to improve mathematical remediation using personalized e-learning systems.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Hungary (Budapest)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A