Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

This paper evaluates the recent adoption of a technology-centered curriculum that has replaced traditional 12^th grade math courses in over 200 high schools across the state of Tennessee. The SAILS (Seamless Alignment and Integrated Learning Support) program allows students who, based on their 11^th grade ACT math sub-score, would otherwise be placed into developmental math once in college, to instead take the identical course during their senior year of high school. Students passing the SAILS course in 12^th grade are then exempt from math remediation, and can begin college in credit-bearing math courses if they attend any in-state public college or university. This research study examines the effects of enrolling in a SAILS math class on students from different backgrounds, and with differing levels of academic preparation. Using data provided by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) and the Tennessee Department of Education, we explore the effects of enrolling in SAILS for two cohorts of high school seniors (2012 and 2013). We use a regression discontinuity design that compares outcomes for students whose ACT scores are just above and below the cutoff score of 19 for placement into SAILS. We then compare these estimates to those from a matching model utilizing data from the four years prior to SAILS adoption. Specifically we ask: does enrolling in SAILS during the senior year of high school result in higher rates of high school graduation, college attendance, and eventual success in college-level math, as compared to similar students not assigned to SAILS? Do these results differ by student sub-group (prior level of academic preparation, age, SES, and urbanicity)? We find that SAILS students are more likely to graduate from high school and enroll in community college than their observationally- similar peers, but less likely to pass their first college-level math course. To explain these findings, we further examine varied levels of effectiveness among different subgroups of students enrolled at different types of high schools (small, large; urban, rural) throughout the state, providing insight into the extent to which the particular instruction and delivery methods of developmental math courses affect subsequent student academic outcomes. The SAILS program is one of the few statewide high school remediation courses, and this evaluation provides evidence as to the impact of allowing students to complete their postsecondary remedial requirements while still in high school.