Two essays on college economics: an evaluation of the college fed challenge competition and the effects of mathematics requirements on student performance in introductory economics

Hoffman, Saul D.My dissertation evaluates two efforts to improve undergraduate economics education – the College Fed Challenge (CFC) competition and requiring intermediate algebra as a prerequisite for taking introductory economics courses. Using survey data of undergraduate students who participated in the CFC competition and a control group of students who did not participate in the competition, I examine the impact of the CFC on economics skills. I find that students who participate in the CFC competition improve less than students in the control group. The reason is likely that the CFC participants are evaluating their improvements in these skills based on one specific activity (i.e., the CFC competition) as opposed to the entire economics curriculum for the control group. ☐ Secondly, using administrative data from the Peralta Community College District (PCCD), I find that intermediate algebra background has mixed effects on student outcomes in introductory economics. A plausible reason for this is that the students taking intermediate algebra at the PCCD are the weakest students or that the intermediate algebra courses at PCCD are inadequate in providing students the proper mathematics background. I also find that the grade that the student receives in his or her intermediate algebra and/or higher-level mathematics courses does matter in terms of their performance in economics. ☐ I conclude that these findings about the CFC competition and intermediate algebra background have implications on how economics courses are taught in the undergraduate level and provide insights as to which instructional methods or approaches might be good for teaching introductory economics courses.University of Delaware, Department of EconomicsPh.D