Show Up to Grow Up: Using behavioral messaging to reduce preschool absenteeism

Last registered on May 16, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Show Up to Grow Up: Using behavioral messaging to reduce preschool absenteeism
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014680
Initial registration date
November 07, 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
November 15, 2024, 1:40 PM EST

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

Last updated
May 16, 2025, 10:36 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Daniela Bresciani
Affiliation
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Ariel Kalil
PI Affiliation
The University of Chicago
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Susan Mayer
PI Affiliation
The University of Chicago
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Michelle Michelini
PI Affiliation
The University of Chicago
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-12-04
End date
2025-05-23
Keywords
Behavior, Education
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
D90, I20
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This project evaluates the effectiveness of the Show Up to Grow Up program (SUGU). SUGU is a 5-month behaviorally informed texting intervention addressed to parents of preschool children with the goal of on reducing absenteeism. We will carry out a randomized controlled trial with approximately 1400 parents from different preschools, where half of the parents will be assigned to the treatment group who will receive the SUGU program, and the other half will be in the control (business as usual) group. We test the effectiveness of the program by evaluating its impact on the number of days a child was absent from preschool and the probability of being chronically absent.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bresciani, Daniela et al. 2025. "Show Up to Grow Up: Using behavioral messaging to reduce preschool absenteeism." AEA RCT Registry. May 16. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14680-5.0
Sponsors & Partners

Sponsors

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Participants in the control group will receive no intervention, and will continue business as usual. Participants in the treatment group will receive the Show Up to Grow Up program. They will get between 3 and 4 behaviorally informed text messages per week during 5 months. These messages will encourage parents to support their child's attendance to preschool and strength their relationship with preschool. Each message will be repeated between 2 and 3 times throughout the intervention.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2025-01-20
Intervention End Date
2025-05-22

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Children's absence rate (absent days divided by total days), chronic absenteeism, child being unenrolled from preschool.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Self-reported parents’ opinions about preschool effects on children’s skills, parents’ reciprocity with the child’s teacher/preschool, parents’ and children’s habit formation and planning, parents’ sense of belonging, parental identity.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Randomized controlled trial, half of the participants will be randomly allocated to each group.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individual randomization.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1400 parents
Sample size: planned number of observations
1400 parents
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
700 parents control, 700 parents treatment Show Up to Grow Up
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
The minimum detectable effect is 0.15 SD
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Social and Behavioral Sciences Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2024-09-24
IRB Approval Number
IRB24-1239
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Analysis plan

MD5: ae35b80b04d28c5e9ddf65ebc060d109

SHA1: 9d6aaff475b2b17e06b9f6b6ccda00b9ebe129b8

Uploaded At: May 16, 2025

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