ERIC Number: EJ1253447
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Jun
Pages: 34
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0002-8312
EISSN: N/A
Giving Community College Students Choice: The Impact of Self-Placement in Math Courses
Kosiewicz, Holly; Ngo, Federick
American Educational Research Journal, v57 n3 p1358-1391 Jun 2020
This study examines the impact of a "natural experiment" that gave students the choice to place into or out of developmental math because of an unintended mistake made by a community college. During self-placement, more students chose to enroll in gateway college- and transfer-level math courses, however, greater proportions of female, Black, and Hispanic students enrolled in the lowest levels of math relative to test-placed counterparts. Difference-in-difference estimates show that self-placement led to positive outcomes, but mostly for White, Asian, and male students. This evidence suggests areas of concern and potential for improvement for self-placement policies. Self-determination theory, behavioral decision theory, and stereotype vulnerability provide possible explanations for the observed changes.
Descriptors: Community Colleges, Two Year College Students, Course Selection (Students), Student Placement, Remedial Mathematics, Gender Differences, Racial Differences, Ethnicity, Self Determination, Urban Schools, Academic Persistence, Success, Graduation, College Transfer Students, Developmental Studies Programs, College Mathematics
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Florida; Connecticut; California; Texas; North Carolina
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