Benjamin L Castleman
Biographic Data
| ID | 5986555 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Benjamin L Castleman |
| GIVEN NAMES | Benjamin L |
| FAMILY NAME | Castleman |
| SIGNATURE | CASTLEMAN B L |
| AFFILIATIONS | Harvard Graduate School of Education |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 23 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Can information and advising affect postsecondary participation and attainment for military personnel? Evidence from a large‐scale experiment with the U.S. Army
Despite generous financial aid, military veterans have high rates of undermatch and generally poor postsecondary outcomes. We conducted a large‐scale, multi‐arm field experiment with the U.S. Army to investigate whether personalized information about postsecondary options and access to advising affects service members’ postsecondary choices and outcomes. We find no impact of the intervention on whether or where veterans enroll in college or on th…
Are algorithms biased in education? Exploring racial bias in predicting community college student success
Predictive analytics are increasingly pervasive in higher education. However, algorithmic bias has the potential to reinforce racial inequities in postsecondary success. We provide a comprehensive and translational investigation of algorithmic bias in two separate prediction models—one predicting course completion, the second predicting degree completion. We show that if either model were used to target additional supports for “at‐risk” students,…
Finishing the Last Lap
Nearly half of students who enter college do not graduate. The majority of efforts to increase college completion have focused on supporting students before or soon after they enter college, yet many students drop out after making significant progress towards their degree. In this paper, we report results from a multi‐year, large‐scale experimental intervention conducted across five states and 20 broad‐access public colleges and universities to s…
Digital messaging to improve college enrollment and success
Nudges Don't Work When the Benefits Are Ambiguous
The Post‐9/11 GI Bill allows service members to transfer generous education benefits to a dependent. We run a large‐scale experiment that encourages service members to consider the transfer option among a population that includes individuals for whom the transfer benefits are clear and individuals for whom the net‐benefits are significantly more ambiguous. We find no impact of a one‐time e‐mail about benefits transfer among service members for wh…
Benefits left on the table
Can Financial Aid Help to Address the Growing Need for STEM Education? The Effects of Need‐Based Grants on the Completion of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Courses and Degrees
Although workers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields earn above‐average wages, the number of college graduates prepared for STEM jobs lags behind employer demand. A key question is how to recruit and retain college students in STEM majors. We offer new evidence on the role of financial aid in supporting STEM attainment. Exploiting a regression discontinuity that allows for causal inference, we find that eligibility for nee…
Summer nudging
The Forgotten Summer
Despite decades of policy intervention to increase college entry and success among low‐income students, considerable gaps by socioeconomic status remain. To date, policymakers have overlooked the summer after high school as an important time period in students’ transition to college, yet recent research documents high rates of summer attrition from the college pipeline among college‐intending high school graduates, a phenomenon we refer to as “su…
A Trickle or a Torrent? Understanding the Extent of Summer “Melt” Among College‐Intending High School Graduates
Objectives The object of this study was to examine whether college‐intending, low‐income high school graduates are particularly susceptible to having their postsecondary education plans change, or even fall apart, during the summer after high school graduation. College access research has largely overlooked this time period. Yet, previous research indicates that a sizeable share of low‐income students who had paid college deposits reconsidered wh…
The Forgotten Summer
Despite decades of policy intervention to increase college entry and success among low‐income students, considerable gaps by socioeconomic status remain. To date, policymakers have overlooked the summer after high school as an important time period in students’ transition to college, yet recent research documents high rates of summer attrition from the college pipeline among college‐intending high school graduates, a phenomenon we refer to as “su…
A Trickle or a Torrent? Understanding the Extent of Summer “Melt” Among College‐Intending High School Graduates
Objectives The object of this study was to examine whether college‐intending, low‐income high school graduates are particularly susceptible to having their postsecondary education plans change, or even fall apart, during the summer after high school graduation. College access research has largely overlooked this time period. Yet, previous research indicates that a sizeable share of low‐income students who had paid college deposits reconsidered wh…
Can Financial Aid Help to Address the Growing Need for STEM Education? The Effects of Need‐Based Grants on the Completion of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Courses and Degrees
Although workers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields earn above‐average wages, the number of college graduates prepared for STEM jobs lags behind employer demand. A key question is how to recruit and retain college students in STEM majors. We offer new evidence on the role of financial aid in supporting STEM attainment. Exploiting a regression discontinuity that allows for causal inference, we find that eligibility for nee…
The Forgotten Summer
Despite decades of policy intervention to increase college entry and success among low‐income students, considerable gaps by socioeconomic status remain. To date, policymakers have overlooked the summer after high school as an important time period in students’ transition to college, yet recent research documents high rates of summer attrition from the college pipeline among college‐intending high school graduates, a phenomenon we refer to as “su…
A Trickle or a Torrent? Understanding the Extent of Summer “Melt” Among College‐Intending High School Graduates
Objectives The object of this study was to examine whether college‐intending, low‐income high school graduates are particularly susceptible to having their postsecondary education plans change, or even fall apart, during the summer after high school graduation. College access research has largely overlooked this time period. Yet, previous research indicates that a sizeable share of low‐income students who had paid college deposits reconsidered wh…
Summer nudging
Can Financial Aid Help to Address the Growing Need for STEM Education? The Effects of Need‐Based Grants on the Completion of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Courses and Degrees
Although workers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields earn above‐average wages, the number of college graduates prepared for STEM jobs lags behind employer demand. A key question is how to recruit and retain college students in STEM majors. We offer new evidence on the role of financial aid in supporting STEM attainment. Exploiting a regression discontinuity that allows for causal inference, we find that eligibility for nee…
Benefits left on the table
Digital messaging to improve college enrollment and success
Nudges Don't Work When the Benefits Are Ambiguous
The Post‐9/11 GI Bill allows service members to transfer generous education benefits to a dependent. We run a large‐scale experiment that encourages service members to consider the transfer option among a population that includes individuals for whom the transfer benefits are clear and individuals for whom the net‐benefits are significantly more ambiguous. We find no impact of a one‐time e‐mail about benefits transfer among service members for wh…
Finishing the Last Lap
Nearly half of students who enter college do not graduate. The majority of efforts to increase college completion have focused on supporting students before or soon after they enter college, yet many students drop out after making significant progress towards their degree. In this paper, we report results from a multi‐year, large‐scale experimental intervention conducted across five states and 20 broad‐access public colleges and universities to s…
Can information and advising affect postsecondary participation and attainment for military personnel? Evidence from a large‐scale experiment with the U.S. Army
Despite generous financial aid, military veterans have high rates of undermatch and generally poor postsecondary outcomes. We conducted a large‐scale, multi‐arm field experiment with the U.S. Army to investigate whether personalized information about postsecondary options and access to advising affects service members’ postsecondary choices and outcomes. We find no impact of the intervention on whether or where veterans enroll in college or on th…
Are algorithms biased in education? Exploring racial bias in predicting community college student success
Predictive analytics are increasingly pervasive in higher education. However, algorithmic bias has the potential to reinforce racial inequities in postsecondary success. We provide a comprehensive and translational investigation of algorithmic bias in two separate prediction models—one predicting course completion, the second predicting degree completion. We show that if either model were used to target additional supports for “at‐risk” students,…
Psychology (10 works) · Higher Education Research Studies (7 works) · Medicine (7 works) · Medical education (6 works) · Economics (4 works) · Financial Literacy, Pension, Retirement Analysis (4 works) · Mathematics education (4 works) · Political science (4 works) · Computer Science (3 works) · Demographic economics (3 works)