We estimate the cost effectiveness of corequisite English developmental education at community colleges compared to a traditional prerequisite pathway. Our context is the randomized controlled trial conducted by Miller et al. (2022) that estimated the effects of three different approaches to English corequisites implemented in five Texas community colleges. The main drivers of differential costs across pathways and colleges are the number of credit and contact hours in each pathway, class sizes, and the type of faculty used to teach courses (adjunct or full-time). Corequisites are less expensive than prerequisite pathways in two colleges, they are roughly similar in two other colleges, and they are much more expensive in one college. Miller et al. (2022) find that corequisites induced more students to pass the required college-level English course in all colleges but find no impact on persistence in college. From students' point of view, corequisites should be preferred because tuition payments are lower, and they entail a higher likelihood of success.

We estimate the cost effectiveness of corequisite English developmental education at community colleges compared to a traditional prerequisite pathway.

This is the first study to provide experimental evidence of the impact of corequisite remediation for students underprepared in reading and writing. We examine the short-term impacts of three different approaches to corequisite remediation that were implemented at five large urban community colleges in Texas, and we explore whether corequisites have differential impacts on students with different characteristics. Results from three first-time-in-college cohorts indicate that corequisite remediation increased the probability of completing a first college-level English course within one year by 24 percentage points and within two years by 18 percentage points. The impacts were positive for all three of the corequisite models examined and for traditionally underrepresented groups, including Hispanic students, first-generation college students, and students whose first language is not English. We saw modest positive impacts on the accumulation of college credits but no effect on persistence in college.

This is the first study to provide experimental evidence of the impact of corequisite remediation for students underprepared in reading and writing. We examine the short-term impacts of three different approaches to corequisite remediation that were implemented at five large urban community colleges in Texas, and we explore whether corequisites have differential impacts on students with different characteristics. Results from three first-time-in-college cohorts indicate that corequisite remediation increased the probability of completing a first college-level English course within one year by 24 percentage points and within two years by 18 percentage points. The impacts were positive for all three of the corequisite models examined and for traditionally underrepresented groups, including Hispanic students, first-generation college students, and students whose first language is not English. We saw modest positive impacts on the accumulation of college credits but no effect on persistence in college.