Familiarity, Test Performance and Implications for Fairness

Last registered on December 05, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Familiarity, Test Performance and Implications for Fairness
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014879
Initial registration date
November 20, 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
December 05, 2024, 10:54 AM EST

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Dalila Figueiredo
Affiliation
Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Lucas Finamor
PI Affiliation
São Paulo School of Economics - Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV)
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-11-21
End date
2025-05-31
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We study the effect of topic familiarity on test performance in standardized English tests. The hypothesis is that test performance is capturing more than ability, and it is being confounded with familiarity, which in turn is affected by SES, gender, race, and other cultural factors. If this is the case, then these tests are acting as unfair gatekeepers to important economic opportunities. We test these hypotheses in this project by eliciting baseline topic familiarity and also experimentally varying familiarity.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Figueiredo, Dalila and Lucas Finamor. 2024. "Familiarity, Test Performance and Implications for Fairness." AEA RCT Registry. December 05. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14879-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2024-11-21
Intervention End Date
2025-05-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Familiarity; English Writing Proficiency
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We elicit and experimentally vary participants' familiarity and evaluate how that affects writing performance.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization is done in the Qualtrics software
Randomization Unit
Individual level
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
0
Sample size: planned number of observations
1200
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
480 treatment arm
360 control group 1
120 control group 2
120 control group 3
120 control group 4
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethics Committee at the European University Institute
IRB Approval Date
2021-03-12
IRB Approval Number
N/A
IRB Name
COMITÊ DE CONFORMIDADE ÉTICA EM PESQUISAS ENVOLVENDO SERES HUMANOS – CEPH/FGV
IRB Approval Date
2023-06-15
IRB Approval Number
P.176.2023
IRB Name
Review of the Ethics Council of the Max Planck Society
IRB Approval Date
2024-09-12
IRB Approval Number
2024_31
Analysis Plan

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