Engaging Parents to Help Students Catch-Up: Evidence from a Large-Scale RCT in India

Last registered on January 03, 2023

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Engaging Parents to Help Students Catch-Up: Evidence from a Large-Scale RCT in India
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010703
Initial registration date
December 27, 2022

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
January 03, 2023, 5:29 PM EST

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2022-02-18
End date
2024-12-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The impact of learning losses from full and partial school closures during the pandemic has the potential to impact individual and household livelihoods as well as economic development for decades to come. Given the seriousness of the repercussions of learning losses in general and among students from disadvantaged backgrounds in particular, policymakers and researchers have introduced a variety of programs and policies to help students “catch-up” on the curriculum that they may have missed during full or partial school closures. To help catch students up, policymakers and researchers have often sought to rely on additional levers outside of the traditional set of school inputs, such as additional time after school or greater inputs from households and the community. To date, the cost-effectiveness of such catch-up policies and programs has seldom been rigorously evaluated. The purpose of this study is to examine the cost-effectiveness of one pandemic catch-up intervention—engaging parents in children’s schoolwork by telephone—in improving children’s learning outcomes. To fulfill this purpose, we conduct a randomized controlled trial with 1,128 students and their parents in one rural region of India.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Loyalka, Prashant. 2023. "Engaging Parents to Help Students Catch-Up: Evidence from a Large-Scale RCT in India." AEA RCT Registry. January 03. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10703-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2022-02-21
Intervention End Date
2022-05-09

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Data on the primary outcome measures (literacy skills score, z-scored using the mean and standard deviation of the control group at endline) is from the endline survey.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
We also estimate impacts on secondary outcome measures such as numeracy, cognitive, and social-emotional skills (using standardized tests, scores in z-scores).
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study sample consists of 1,128 grade 1-3 students (ages 6-8) across 25 government schools in one rural district in India. We conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with these 1,128 students. As part of the RCT, students take a baseline assessment and survey. After the baseline, half the students in each classroom in the sample are randomly assigned to receive a parent engagement intervention (the treatment group) or no such intervention (the control group). After the intervention, all sample students take an endline assessment and survey.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
done in an office by a computer
Randomization Unit
individual student
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1,128 students individually randomized to treatment and control within in 71 strata
Sample size: planned number of observations
1,128 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
563 in each arm
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Azim Premji University School of Education IRB
IRB Approval Date
2022-02-18
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

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