Who succeeds in distance learning? Evidence from quantile panel data estimation

Abstract

This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the distributional effects of distance learning (DL) on academic success, as measured by course grades and completion. Using data of over 1.2 million courses taken by about 200,000 U.S. Navy sailor‐students at more than 1800 U.S. institutions during 1994–2007, we find that distance delivery of education is associated with poorer outcomes. At the mean, DL delivery is associated with 0.19 lower course grade points; however, the mean effect masks the more pronounced negative effects of DL in the bottom two‐thirds of the distribution—where DL lowers grades by as much as 0.8 points. Using variation only among marginal students—those who tend to fail some of the courses that they take, our estimates indicate traditional face‐to‐face delivery is associated with 2.4 times greater likelihood of successful course completion than if it was delivered distant. These findings suggest that targeting DL courses to certain students may be more cost‐effective.

Examining Students’ Online Course Perceptions and Comparing Student Performance Outcomes in Online and Face-to-Face Classrooms

“…Several studies have investigated whether differences between online and traditional course formats hold when students are split into high and low performing groups (e.g., based on overall course performance or GPA). Findings provide support for the negative effect of online learning across both performance groups, with the largest differences observed in low performing student populations (Bacolod, Mehay, & Pema, 2018;Lu & Lemonde, 2012;Sanford, 2017). Students with low GPAs are found to perform even worse in online courses compared to face-to-face (Cavanaugh & Jacquemin, 2015;Cummings, Chaffin, & Cockerham, 2015;Fendler, Ruff, & Shrikhande, 2016;Johnson & Palmer, 2015).…”

The Impact of the Learning Mobile Application on Student Performance Using the Technology Acceptance Model

“…Learner performance can be defined and measured in numerous methods that are not limited to course completion, grade point average, and skill development [30]. Online education has been found to have detrimental effects on both high-achieving and low-achieving students, with a particular emphasis on the negative impact it has on the latter group [31][32][33]. The aforementioned figures provide evidence in favor of the assertion that online instruction has negative implications for instructors' professional trajectories.…”

Online learning during school closure due to COVID-19

“…Some studies based on observational data find negative effects of online lectures on learning (Bacolod et al, 2018 ; Bettinger et al, 2017 ; Xu & Jaggars, 2014 ). However, by comparing the estimates from observational and experimental data, Joyce et al ( 2015 ) argue that the former are likely to overestimate the effect of face-to-face lectures.…”