The Predictability of Retention in Economics

Abstract

In spite of the work of Phillip Saunders and others, many questions remain regarding the extent to which students retain what they have “learned” in economics courses. In this report Craig and O'Neill add to the meager knowledge we have of the residual impact of economics instruction. They compare the retention by students exposed to traditional methods with those getting a self-instruction approach. Student attitudes toward the course are also considered. One of the unsurprising—but important—conclusions is that “people remember things which interest them.”