Improving Reading Outcomes for Disadvantaged Students: Scaling and Implementing Interventions

Last registered on September 12, 2024

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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Improving Reading Outcomes for Disadvantaged Students: Scaling and Implementing Interventions

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0010989

Initial registration date

September 02, 2024

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

September 12, 2024, 5:24 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country

Denmark

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Simon Calmar Andersen

Affiliation

Aarhus University

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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Nanna Vestergaard Ahrensberg

PI Affiliation

Aarhus University

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Jesper Asring Jessen Hansen

PI Affiliation

Aarhus University

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PI Name

Morten Hjortskov

PI Affiliation

VIVE

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PI Name

Jakob Majlund Holm

PI Affiliation

Aarhus University

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Additional Trial Information

Status

Completed

Start date

2022-03-01

End date

2024-08-01

Keywords

Education

Additional Keywords

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

Many interventions aimed at improving students' reading skills have proven effective in small-scale evaluations. However, when educational interventions include more than a thousand students, effect sizes tend to approach zero. This problem of scalability is recognized in the literature, yet there exists very little systematic, research-based knowledge on how to solve it.

The trial invites a randomly selected group of one third of all public schools in Denmark to participate in the shared-book reading program READit. The main goal is to improve the reading skills of students in the invited schools compared to all other schools in the country. Within the main trial, we embed trials testing how to increase sign-up within invited schools, how to support teachers in supporting families, and how to facilitate families' use of a digital reading platform.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Ahrensberg, Nanna Vestergaard et al. 2024. "Improving Reading Outcomes for Disadvantaged Students: Scaling and Implementing Interventions." AEA RCT Registry. September 12. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10989-1.0

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

The intervention consist of physical and electronic children's books combined with advice to parents on how to do shared-book reading. Additionally the intervention contains support to schools and families in order to facilitate implementation of the program.

Intervention Start Date

2022-03-01

Intervention End Date

2023-08-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

The primary outcome is children reading test score measured by the national reading test around September 2023.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

We randomly assign schools to the intervention or a control group.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Randomization is done in office by a computer.

Randomization Unit

We randomize at the school level.

Was the treatment clustered?

Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

Approximately 1,100 schools

Sample size: planned number of observations

Approximately 35,000 low socio-economic status students

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

Approximately 360 schools invited, 720 schools control.

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

With 80% power, alpha-level 5%, and intraclass correlation of 0.15 we have a minimum detectable effect size of 0.08 on the standardized reading test score (with mean 0 and standard deviation of 1)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB