Premium
Is Early Start a Better Start? Evaluating California State University's Early Start Remediation Policy
Author(s) -
Kurlaender Michal,
Lusher Lester,
Case Matthew
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of policy analysis and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.898
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1520-6688
pISSN - 0276-8739
DOI - 10.1002/pam.22198
Subject(s) - remedial education , environmental remediation , state (computer science) , political science , psychology , mathematics education , computer science , ecology , algorithm , contamination , biology
Remediation has long been a costly way to address the misalignment between K‐12 and higher education. In 2011, the California State University (CSU), the nation's largest public four‐year university system, enacted Early Start , requiring students needing remediation to enroll in such courses in the summer before their freshman year. We estimate the impact of Early Start summer remediation relative to both traditional fall remediation and relative to no remediation at all. Our results suggest Early Start summer remediation has not improved student performance or persistence relative to either alternative. As many states move away from remedial courses altogether, there is continued need for both innovation and for evidence in policy and practice to improve college readiness and success.