Engaging Parents at Scale: Evidence from an Automated Text Message Experiment (Pilot)

Last registered on August 08, 2014
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Engaging Parents at Scale: Evidence from an Automated Text Message Experiment (Pilot)
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0000467
Initial registration date
August 08, 2014

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
August 08, 2014, 5:23 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
PETER BERGMAN
Affiliation
Columbia University Teachers College
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2014-03-15
End date
2014-08-01
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
Parents, Information, Scale
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Previous research has shown that significant information asymmetries can exist between parents and their children, and parents may have misperceptions about their child's academic performance (Akabayashi, 2005; Bursztyn and Coffman 2012; Cosconati, 2009; and Weinberg, 2001). Further, several papers show providing detailed information to parents about their child's academic performance can significantly improve parental engagement and student achievement (Bergman 2013; Kraft and Dougherty, 2013; Kraft and Rogers, 2013). This project provides performance information to low-income families at scale and low cost by sending parents automated text messages directly from teacher gradebooks.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
BERGMAN, PETER. 2014. "Engaging Parents at Scale: Evidence from an Automated Text Message Experiment (Pilot)." AEA RCT Registry. August 08. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.467-1.0
Former Citation
BERGMAN, PETER. 2014. "Engaging Parents at Scale: Evidence from an Automated Text Message Experiment (Pilot)." AEA RCT Registry. August 08. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/467/history/2338
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
This intervention provided low-grade and missing assignment alerts once per week to a randomly selected group of parents with children in grades 6-8.
Intervention Start Date
2014-03-31
Intervention End Date
2014-06-09

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Passing rates, letter grades, attendance, parent login information.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Random assignment at the individual level within a school.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization by computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1
Sample size: planned number of observations
428 indivuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
215 individuals
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
July 07, 2014, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
June 28, 2014, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
1
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
428
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
215 Treatment 213 Control
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials