Our colleagues investigated: Is mathematics remediation worth it?

December 29, 2020

Máté Baranyi and Roland Molontay published an interesting paper in the prestigious journal, Interactive Learning Environments. The authors applied 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. Their 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, the authors study both the direct and longer-term effects of remediation; and find that the design of the remedial course matters a lot. They measured a statistically significant positive effect on subsequent academic achievement for both course designs; however, the magnitude of the effect differs substantially. The authors 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.
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