ERIC Number: EJ1472436
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1557-3060
EISSN: EISSN-1557-3079
Available Date: 0000-00-00
The External Validity of College Remediation Effects: Caveats about Compliers in Fuzzy-Discontinuity Designs
Lucy Cordes; Patrick J. McEwan; Akila Weerapana
Education Finance and Policy, v20 n2 p286-311 2025
Fuzzy regression-discontinuity evaluations of college remediation often find negative and null estimates of local average treatments effects (LATEs), but with substantial heterogeneity. We find that a remedial quantitative skills course at Wellesley College has a modestly positive LATE on participation in mathematically intensive fields of study--including the sciences, mathematics, and economics courses. Yet, LATEs are a weighted average of average causal effects (at the passing cutoff) in two principal strata: students who voluntarily comply with remediation, and those who are coerced to comply after scoring below the cutoff on an optional retest. In the retest sample, we show that average causal effects are close to zero among (1) coerced compliers, and (2) never-takers. By implication, there are even larger effects among a smaller group of voluntary compliers at the cutoff. The results help interpret the mixed findings in the literature, in which compliance varies widely, and demonstrate methods for assessing external validity in fuzzy-discontinuity designs.
Descriptors: Remedial Mathematics, College Students, Validity, Outcomes of Education, Compliance (Psychology), Regression (Statistics), Statistical Analysis
MIT Press. 55 Hayward Street, Cambridge, MA 02142. Tel: 617-253-2889; Fax: 617-253-1709; e-mail: journals-rights@mit.edu; Web site: http://www.mitpressjournals.org.bibliotheek.ehb.be/loi/edfp
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: Massachusetts
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A