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

Last registered on July 19, 2016
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Engaging Parents at Scale: Evidence from an Automated Text Message Experiment
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0001227
Initial registration date
July 19, 2016

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
July 19, 2016, 4:13 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
On going
Start date
2015-08-01
End date
2016-12-01
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
Information, parents, text messaging
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 information to low-income families at scale and low cost by sending parents automated text messages directly from teacher gradebooks. These messages contain attendance alerts, low-grade alerts, and missed-assignment alerts.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
BERGMAN, PETER. 2016. "Engaging Parents at Scale: Evidence from an Automated Text Message Experiment ." AEA RCT Registry. July 19. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.1227-1.0
Former Citation
BERGMAN, PETER. 2016. "Engaging Parents at Scale: Evidence from an Automated Text Message Experiment ." AEA RCT Registry. July 19. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/1227/history/9447
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2015-10-26
Intervention End Date
2016-06-06

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
See attached.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Cluster-randomized trial. See attached.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Cluster-randomized trial.
Randomization Unit
School-by-grade.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
75
Sample size: planned number of observations
~1100
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
~550
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Teachers College, Columbia University IRB
IRB Approval Date
2015-05-12
IRB Approval Number
15-234
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials