The Impact of Indoor Air Quality on Students’ Performance: Evidence from a Field Experiment in China

Last registered on December 01, 2023

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Impact of Indoor Air Quality on Students’ Performance: Evidence from a Field Experiment in China
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012515
Initial registration date
November 16, 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
December 01, 2023, 4:16 AM EST

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Shandong University

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2023-05-20
End date
2024-01-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The adverse impacts of ambient air quality and its associated costs have received substantial public policy attention in the last few decades (Matus et al., 2012; Schlenker and Walker, 2016; Zhang et al., 2017 ; Xie et al., 2016; Maji et al., 2021). However, the health and economic consequences of indoor air quality are largely overlooked. This is astonishing, especially when considering that most countries’ populations spend roughly 90% of their time indoors. This study focuses on school indoor air quality (IAQ). For a primary school student in China, he/she spends nearly six hours at school, and four and half hours in the classroom. We will link the indoor air quality to a student’s academic performance. We use randomized control trial to divide students into groups that receive interventions aimed at improving IAQ. We manage to answer to what extent the IAQ (especially, CO2) affects cognitive performance of students, and what are the possible mechanisms? We believe that the crowded classroom may lead to students being exposed to insufficient oxygen, which can decrease their productivity in studying. In order to uncover the reasons behind this, we ask students to report on their sleep quality, memory, and attention before and after the interventions. We also access information on students’ physical condition.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
wu, jia. 2023. "The Impact of Indoor Air Quality on Students’ Performance: Evidence from a Field Experiment in China." AEA RCT Registry. December 01. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12515-1.0
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We have designed two treatment arms: (1) opening windows after class (OW) and (2) staying outside with the windows open after class (SOW). The experiment lasts one semester (18 weeks). Every week, we request a school staff member to record IAQ in the morning and afternoon on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2023-09-01
Intervention End Date
2024-01-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
school indoor air quality; CO2; PM2.5; students' performance; students' grades
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We have designed two treatment arms: (1) opening windows after class (OW) and (2) staying outside with the windows open after class (SOW). In each grade of each school, 2/3 of the classes are selected as treatment groups and 1/3 of the classes as control groups. In the treatment group, half of the classes, referred to as OW, are instructed to open windows and ventilate after the class, while the other half, defined as SOW are instructed staying outside with the windows open after class. The experiment lasts one semester (18 weeks). Every week, we request a school staff member to record IAQ in the morning and afternoon on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
class
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
51 classes
Sample size: planned number of observations
2137 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
51 classes
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number

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