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Catherine Mata
Behind the Scenes: Faculty-Staff Collaboration in a Student Success Effort
Interventions to improve postsecondary student success often involve supports that are external to the college classroom, although there is growing evidence that faculty involvement in interventions can improve student outcomes. This paper explores the challenges that arise when faculty and… more →
Examining the Relationship Between Randomization Strategies and Contamination in Higher Education Interventions
Topics: MethodsTags: Higher educationRandomized controlled trials are the reference method for causal inference, but field experiments in educational settings must balance statistical power with the risk of contamination. This study examines crossover and spillover contamination in a large-enrollment, in-person college course… more →
Let’s Chat: Leveraging Chatbot Outreach for Improved Course Performance
Katharine Meyer, Lindsay C. Page, Catherine Mata, Eric N. Smith, B. Tyler Walsh, C. Lindsey Fifield, Michelle Tyson, Amy Eremionkhale, Michael Evans, Shelby Frost, Eye Eoun Jung.Tags: Instructional technologyThis study reports on the causal effects of using a non-generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot to provide course-specific, proactive outreach and support to students in large-enrollment undergraduate courses. Across both an American Government and Microeconomics course, students… more →
The Effects of a Statewide Ban on School Suspensions
Topics: Student Well-BeingThis research analyzes the implementation of a school suspension ban in Maryland to investigate whether a top-down state-initiated ban on suspensions in early primary grades can influence school behavior regarding school discipline. Beginning in the fall of 2017, the State of Maryland banned the… more →
How Context Shapes the Relationship between School Autonomy and Test-Scores: An Explanatory Analysis using PISA 2015
Topics: Policy, Politics, and GovernanceSchool autonomy has been and continues to be one of the most important education reform strategies around the world despite ambiguity about its theoretical and empirical effects on students learning. We use international data from PISA to test three country-level factors that might account for… more →
A Bridge to Graduation: Post-Secondary Effects of an Alternative Pathway for Students Who Fail High School Exit Exams
Tags: High schools, AssessmentHigh school exit exams are meant to standardize the quality of public high schools and to ensure that students graduate with a set of basic skills and knowledge. Evidence suggests that a common perverse effect of exit exams is an increase in dropout for students who have difficulty passing tests… more →