Students' knowledge, performance, and satisfaction

Last registered on September 09, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Students' knowledge, performance, and satisfaction
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012459
Initial registration date
November 07, 2023

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
November 17, 2023, 7:46 AM EST

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

Last updated
September 09, 2025, 11:31 AM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
Germany
Region
North-Rhine Westfalia

Primary Investigator

Name
Friederike Hertweck
Affiliation
RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Melissa Kistner
PI Affiliation
Ruhr University Bochum
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PI Name
Deborah Maffia
PI Affiliation
Ruhr University Bochum
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PI Name
Lukas Jonas
PI Affiliation
RWI - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
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Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2023-11-07
End date
2024-04-30
Keywords
Education, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
I20, I23
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study analyses the effect of an color-coded information treatment on undergraduate students’ performance, learning behavior, and satisfaction. As part of an introductory course at a large German university, students receive randomly either a publicly available information on required learning intensity – or on loan periods at the library. Students are then tracked over the first year of undergraduate studies including their course-specific learning effort and their exam performance. Thereby, the study ascertains whether the provision of information at an early stage can affect academic performance.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Hertweck, Friederike et al. 2025. "Students' knowledge, performance, and satisfaction." AEA RCT Registry. September 09. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12459-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We provide participants with either an information on required study effort or on loan periods at the library.

Intervention (Hidden)
During the fourth lecture of the course, students are asked to participate in an paper-and-pencil survey. All students are randomly assigned into a treatment and a control group based on their seats in the lecture hall (50% probability each (simple randomization)). The treatment group receives a color-coded information regarding the curricular required number of hours for studying (including non-supervised learning). The control group receives a color-coded information on loan periods in the university library – which is not related to the curricular required learning effort.
Intervention Start Date
2023-11-07
Intervention End Date
2023-12-19

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The main outcome variable is a student’s activity on an online learning platform during the winter term 2023/24. Further outcome variables are the number of his/her exam registrations as well as the ultimate exam performance at the end of the winter term 2023/24.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary outcomes are changes in student behavior and student satisfaction.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The intervention is carried out as part of a lecture at a large German university. At the beginning of the first lecture, all students are informed about the fact that a scientific study on learning and study satisfaction will take place during the lectures. The intervention starts in lecture 4 with a reminder four weeks later. Data analysis will start once all data for the winter term 2023/24 is available, i.e., approximately in May 2024.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization based on seat allocation in the lecture hall.
Randomization Unit
Individual randomisation
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
700 individual undergraduate students
Sample size: planned number of observations
700 individual undergraduate students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
350 students in treatment and 350 students in control group
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
Ruhr University Bochum Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2023-11-06
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials

Description
Addendum to pre-analysis-plan
Citation
Hertweck, Friederike et al. 2025. "Students' knowledge, performance, and satisfaction." AEA RCT Registry. September 09. 2025. "Registration Entry Title: Addendum to pre-analysis-plan." AEA RCT Registry. September 09 https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12459-1.1
File
Addendum_to_PAP_v20250909.pdf

MD5: d5079b5a0f44343e04b2cbf58fa09706

SHA1: 770998ddaf02e4fb2be637bb48fc34bf61ec9063

Uploaded At: September 09, 2025