The high school SAILS remedial math course did not improve math achievement more than a typical senior year math course¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causalr?·q3
Currency · newest study 2021 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q3 i? Using a regression discontinuity design, students who completed SAILS showed no greater math achievement than students who took the typical senior year math course. → Thomas J. Kane 2021
Evidence¶
Thomas J. Kane 2021¶
Thomas J. Kane, Angela Boatman, Whitney Kozakowski, Christopher Bennett, Rachel Hitch, Dana Weisenfeld. (2021). Is College Remediation a Barrier or a Boost? Evidence from the Tennessee SAILS Program. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, vol. 40, issue 3. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/is-college-remediation-a-barrier-or-a-boost-evidence-from-the-tennessee-sails-program doi:10.1002/pam.22306
q3 · i? · causal · r?
Regression discontinuity analysis of the Tennessee SAILS policy, which waived college math remediation for students completing the computer-based high school course. The study finds "did not improve students' math achievement any more than the typical senior year math course." No effect size is printed.
"Using a regression discontinuity design, we find that the high school remedial course did not improve students' math achievement any more than the typical senior year math course (although it did allow students to avoid the cost and delay of remedial math in college)."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Remediation requirements are not a primary driver of low college degree completion rates — related
- Completing SAILS boosted first-year community college students' enrollment in college-level math by nearly 30 percentage points — related
- SAILS completers had completed only 1.5 additional college courses after two years — related
- Under Tennessee's 2015 co-requisite remediation policy, completing SAILS no longer produced any boost in college credits — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
sails-no-math-achievement-gain-rd |
title |
The high school SAILS remedial math course did not improve math achievement more than a typical senior year math course |
description |
The high school SAILS remedial math course did not improve math achievement more than a typical senior year math course |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2021 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-09 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — thomas-j-kane-2021 |
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