Seeing is Learning: Vision Care for Middle School Students in China's Rural Areas

All students were screened for myopia by a team of optometrists employed for the study. These optometrists were all trained by trainers from the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University (among the top ophthalmic centers in China), to ensure standardization and quality. Visual acuity (VA) was tested separately for each eye using tumbling E charts.
Following vision screening, students who failed were taken by bus to a clinic located in the central locations to undergo further vision testing.
After refraction, eyeglasses were manufactured for all students (though the eyeglasses would not be given to the control students until after the endline—and this information was not made availableto anyone) using high-quality equipment that was brought from the United States.
Following the randomization, free eyeglasses were distributed in treatment schools to the students found to require eyeglasses, regardless of whether they already had eyeglasses. Refractionists visited the schools and dispensed the eyeglasses, adjusting them to make sure they fitwell, and answered any questions students had about wearing and caring for their eyeglasses.
Students in control group schools were only provided with an eyeglass prescription and asked to take the prescription to their parents. It was not until after the endline survey was complete that the students in this group received free eyeglasses, and students and teachers in control group schools were unaware that they would be receiving free eyeglasses.

2013-09-15

2014-05-01

Students' Academic Performance: standardized math scores

each student was given a standardized math exam. The questions used in the math exam were drawn from a bank of questions developed by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) testing service. The exam was timed carefully and proctored closely by two
enumerators at each school.

Student's mental health, visual acuity, usage of eyeglasses, aspiration to high school

The 32 schools were randomly assigned to either the treatment group or the control group, resulting in 16 schools in each arm. Following the baseline survey, all students from both groups underwent an eye examination. In the treatment group, students identified as myopic were provided with free eyeglasses. Conversely, in the control group schools, students only received a letter containing an eyeglass prescription for their parents. It was not until after completion of the endline survey that students in this group received free eyeglasses; furthermore, neither students nor teachers in control group schools were aware of this provision.

The randomization process was conducted using Stata

schools. To improve power, we conducted the randomization within pairs of schools matched by county and by the number of students found to require eyeglasses in the schools.

Yes

32 schools

2000 middle school students

16 schools, 1000 middle school students

This experiment was designed to detect a minimum effect size of 0.25 standard deviation in math scores, with a statistical power of 80% and a significance level set at 5%

We present the results of a randomized trial testing the impact of providing free eyeglasses on academic outcomes of junior high school students in a poor rural area of western China. We find that providing free prescription eyeglasses approximately halves dropout rates over a school year among students who did not own eyeglasses at baseline. Effects on dropout are mirrored by improvements in student performance on standardized exams in math and aspirations for further schooling.

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https://doi.org/10.1086/700631