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Doing it twice, getting it right? The effects of grade retention and course repetition in higher education

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  • Tafreschi, Darjusch
  • Thiemann, Petra

Abstract

Many students who enter college are insufficiently prepared to follow a demanding college-level curriculum. Thus, higher education institutions often require low-performing students to repeat failed courses, a full term, or even a full year. This paper is the first to investigate the effects of such a “(grade) retention” policy on student performance in higher education. We study a setting where first-year undergraduates who fall short of a pre-defined performance requirement have to repeat all first-year courses before they can proceed to the second year. To determine the causal effect of retention and repetition on student performance, we apply a sharp regression discontinuity design to administrative data from a Swiss university. Based on a sample of 5000 students, we find that grade retention increases dropout probabilities after the first year by about 10 percentage points. Repetition of a full year persistently boosts grade point averages by about 0.5 standard deviations, but does not affect study pace and major choices.

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  • Tafreschi, Darjusch & Thiemann, Petra, 2016. "Doing it twice, getting it right? The effects of grade retention and course repetition in higher education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 198-219.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:55:y:2016:i:c:p:198-219
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econedurev.2016.10.003
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    Cited by:

    1. Lechner, Michael & Fricke, Hans & Steinmayr, Andreas, 2017. "The Effect of Physical Activity on Student Performance in College: An Experimental Evaluation," CEPR Discussion Papers 12052, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Ibrahim Bicak & Lauren Schudde & Kristina Flores, 2023. "Predictors and Consequences of Math Course Repetition: The Role of Horizontal and Vertical Repetition in Success Among Community College Transfer Students," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 64(2), pages 260-299, March.
    3. Kevin P. Belanger & Angela K. Dills & Rey Hernández-Julián & Kurt W. Rotthoff, 2019. "Class Size, Course Spacing, and Academic Outcomes," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 45(2), pages 301-320, April.
    4. Aguero, Jorge M. & Favara, Marta & Porter, Catherine & Sanchez, Alan, 2021. "Do More School Resources Increase Learning Outcomes? Evidence from an Extended School-Day Reform," IZA Discussion Papers 14240, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Thiemann, Petra, 2017. "The Persistent Effects of Short-Term Peer Groups in Higher Education," IZA Discussion Papers 11024, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Petra Thiemann, 2022. "The Persistent Effects of Short-Term Peer Groups on Performance: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Higher Education," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(2), pages 1131-1148, February.
    7. Ribas, Rafael P. & Sampaio, Breno & Trevisan, Giuseppe, 2020. "Short- and long-term effects of class assignment: Evidence from a flagship university in Brazil," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    8. Gong, Xuche & Yuan, Yan, 2017. "The Effect of School Transfers on Academic and Non-academic Performance of Rural-to-Urban Migrant Children in China," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 259178, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Fricke, Hans & Lechner, Michael & Steinmayr, Andreas, 2018. "The effects of incentives to exercise on student performance in college," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 14-39.
    10. Lindsay Jarratt & Freda B. Lynn & Yongren Shi & Katharine M. Broton, 2024. "Up-or-Out Systems? Quantifying Path Flexibility in the Lived Curriculum of College Majors," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 65(6), pages 1185-1207, September.
    11. Lyle McKinney & Heather Novak & Linda Serra Hagedorn & Maria Luna-Torres, 2019. "Giving Up on a Course: An Analysis of Course Dropping Behaviors Among Community College Students," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 60(2), pages 184-202, March.
    12. Juan Cándido Gómez Gallego & María Concepción Pérez Cárceles & Laura Nieto Torrejón (ed.), 2017. "Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación," E-books Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación, Asociación de Economía de la Educación, edition 1, volume 12, number 12, August.
    13. Hoque, Nurzamal & Mahanta, Ratul & Sarkar, Dipanwita, 2022. "Does free education reduce early school dropouts? Evidence from a legislative reform in India," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 657-665.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Grade retention; Course repetition; Higher education; Dropout; Academic achievement; Regression discontinuity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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