A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Corequisite English Developmental Education: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Texas Community Colleges

Jesse Cunha (), Trey Miller (), Megan Austin (), Lindsay Daugherty () and Paco Martorell ()
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Jesse Cunha: Department of Defense Management Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, CA 93943
Trey Miller: School of Economic Political and Policy Science University of Texas at Dallas American Institutes for Research Richardson, TX 75080
Megan Austin: Education Systems and Policy American Institutes for Research Arlington, VA 22202-3289
Lindsay Daugherty: RAND Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138
Paco Martorell: School of Education University of California at Davis Davis, CA 95616

Education Finance and Policy, 2025, vol. 20, issue 4, 562-583

Abstract: We estimate the cost effectiveness of corequisite English developmental education at community colleges compared with a traditional prerequisite pathway. Our context is a previously published randomized controlled trial 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.

Date: 2025
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