Despite abundant anecdotes and theories suggesting a causal effect of teachers' expectations on student outcomes, documenting its presence and size has been challenging. The reason is simple: positive correlations between what teachers expect and what students ultimately accomplish might simply result from teachers being skilled observers. In…

In recent years Tennessee policymakers have focused on improving the college outcomes of high school graduates. For example, the Tennessee Promise scholarship established in 2014 offers two years of community or technical college free to eligible high school graduates (Tennessee Promise, 2015). Given such policy developments, it is important to…

In this study we examined the effects of prior mathematics achievement and completion of a commercially developed, National Science Foundation-funded, or University of Chicago School Mathematics Project high school mathematics curriculum on achievement in students' first college statistics course. Specifically, we examined the relationship between…

Half of all college students will enroll in remedial coursework but evidence of its effectiveness is mixed. Using a regression-discontinuity design with data from a large urban community college system, we make three contributions. First, we articulate three alternative hypotheses regarding the potential impacts of remediation. Second, in addition…

In this paper I summarize some key findings from a three-year study of the high school-university transition for students attending a large arts and science faculty, within the context of their first university chemistry course. I then discuss these results within the broader context of research on success in higher education. Final conclusions…

The authors examined the effects of remedial mathematics on performance in university-level economics courses using a natural experiment. They studied exam results prior and subsequent to the implementation of a remedial mathematics course that was compulsory for a subset of students and unavailable for the others, controlling for background…

High on any required reading list for college-level student affairs officers and high school counselors is "Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation" by Neil Howe and William Strauss (2000). Experts on generational change in the United States, the authors contend that the current generation of college-age and pre-college-age…

This report displays, in tabular format, four sets of outcomes, each based on a distinct set of students: (1) Participation (percent of high school graduates enrolled in any public or private college in Ohio); (2) Preparation (course-taking data from surveys that students complete when they register for exams); (3) Remedial Course Enrollment (for…