A look at the impact of raising standards in developmental mathematics

Abstract

In this paper, we assess the effect of higher entry and exit standards at a community college in New York City. A complex set of university and college-wide policy modifications led to an increase in placement test cut-scores as well as increased requirements to complete remediation. The implementation of this policy change allows us to utilize quasiexperimental techniques. Utilizing cross-tabulations and logistic regressions from a total of 481 students, our results indicate that an increase in standards was associated with a significant decline in developmental sequence completion and credit-bearing course completion. On the basis of our findings, we conclude that the institution of higher standards alone is not a successful strategy; and in fact, can be expected to adversely affect student progression. Instead, we suggest that an increase in standards should include an increase in student supports to mitigate negative effects on students. We discuss these findings using the opposing forces framework developed by Jaggars and Hodara (2013). The work was funded in part by a PSC CUNY grant to the first author.

Additional information

Funding

The work was funded in part by a PSC CUNY grant to the first author.