Help or Hindrance?

The Effects of College Remediation on Academic and Labor Market Outcomes

Paco Martorell, Isaac McFarlin

ResearchPosted on rand.org May 1, 2011Published in: The Review of Economics and Statistics, v. 93, no. 2, May 2011, p. 436-454

Providing remedial (also known as developmental) education is the primary way colleges cope with students who do not have the academic preparation needed to succeed in college-level courses. Remediation is widespread, with nearly one-third of entering freshmen taking remedial courses at an annual cost of at least $1 billion. Despite its prevalence, there is uncertainty surrounding its short- and longer-run effects. This paper presents new evidence on this question using longitudinal administrative data from Texas and a regression discontinuity research design. We find little indication that remediation improves academic or labor market outcomes.

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Document Details

  • Copyright: President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Publisher: MIT Press
  • Availability: Non-RAND
  • Year: 2011
  • Pages: 19
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/pubs
  • Document Number: EP-51395

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