Educational Innovation Project (EIP) Impact Evaluation

Last registered on December 20, 2024

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Educational Innovation Project (EIP) Impact Evaluation
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015053
Initial registration date
December 18, 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 20, 2024, 2:14 PM EST

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
ITAM

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
University of Bern
PI Affiliation
University of Zurich

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-01-01
End date
2026-12-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The Educational Innovation Project (EIP) in El Salvador, funded by USAID and implemented by FHI 360, aims to improve foundational learning outcomes by enhancing teacher professional development and school management. This randomized controlled trial evaluates the impact of two interventions: (1) a comprehensive teacher training program integrating targeted instruction, socio-emotional learning, and ICT-based teaching strategies, and (2) a focused arm on targeted instruction. The study examines outcomes related to student learning in literacy and numeracy, teaching practices, and school management effectiveness.

Registration Citation

Citation
Coccia, Carla, Martina Jakob and Mauricio Romero. 2024. "Educational Innovation Project (EIP) Impact Evaluation." AEA RCT Registry. December 20. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15053-1.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The Educational Innovation Project (EIP) includes two intervention arms aimed at improving education quality in El Salvador:

Comprehensive Training Package (Full EIP): This arm delivers a holistic set of professional development activities for teachers and school leaders, including: a) Pedagogical Training: Focused on targeted instruction strategies to align teaching with student learning levels; b) Socio-Emotional Learning (SEL): Incorporating methods to support students' mental well-being and foster a positive school climate; c) ICT Training: Equipping teachers with skills to effectively use digital tools in the classroom; d) Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Ensuring inclusivity in lesson planning and teaching practices. e) Peer Learning and Coaching: Facilitating ongoing teacher collaboration and in-classroom support to reinforce training objectives.

Targeted Instruction Arm: This intervention focuses exclusively on targeted instruction techniques. Teachers are trained to assess student learning levels and tailor lessons to meet diverse needs, particularly for students at risk of falling behind. This arm also includes coaching.

Both arms include regular workshops, access to curated teaching materials, and support networks to enable sustainable implementation.
Intervention Start Date
2025-01-06
Intervention End Date
2026-12-11

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Student achievement in math and reading
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Improvement in literacy and numeracy skills, measured through standardized assessments (e.g., Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and Early Grade Math Assessment (EGMA)).

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Teacher pedagogical skills, classroom practices, and school management quality
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Teacher pedagogical skills and classroom practices will be collected via classroom observations and teacher surveys.
School management will be collected via principal surveys

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This study employs a cluster-randomized controlled trial (RCT) design to evaluate the impact of the Educational Innovation Project (EIP) in El Salvador. The trial involves the random assignment of schools into three groups:

Full EIP Intervention Group: Schools receive the comprehensive package of professional development, including pedagogical training, targeted instruction, socio-emotional learning (SEL), ICT integration, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), peer learning networks, and coaching.

Targeted Instruction Only Group: Schools receive training and support specifically focused on targeted instruction strategies, designed to align teaching with students’ learning levels.

Control Group: Schools continue with their regular educational practices without additional interventions, serving as a comparison to evaluate the impact of the two treatment arms.

Randomization: Schools were stratified by geographic region and baseline school size
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
School
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
250 schools
Sample size: planned number of observations
37500 students (30 students per grade, we will survey Grades 2--5)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
100 schools in the full package treatment
50 schools in the targeted instruction treatment
100 control schools
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Based on data from previous trials conducted by the research team in El Salvador, the raw intra-cluster correlation for students within the same school is 0.3. However, after controlling for baseline covariates (sex, age, baseline score, grade and randomization strata) the intra-cluster correlation lowers to 0.21. Based on administrative data from the schools, there are roughly 130 students in grades 1--6. However, since we will focus on students from grades 2--5, and we won't conduct tests with every student in Grades 2 and 3, but rather a sample of 10 students in each grade, we assume we will have data from 70 students per schools: 10 from grade 2, 10 from grade 3, 25 from grade 4 and 25 from grade 5. We will track these students until the end of the 2026 academic year (when they are in grades 3--6). We assume there is a 10% attrition between the baseline and the endline, and so that we will have data from 63 students at the endline. We assume (conservatively) that the baseline covariates (e.g., the baseline test score, age, and gender) explain 40% the variance. This calculation is based on data from a previous trial ran by the research team in El Salvador. The current design assumes there are 100 schools in the full treatment arm, 50 in the targeted instruction arm and 100 control schools. Therefore, we can detect an effect size of at least (MDE) 0.177SD with power 80% using a 5% test of level when comparing the targeted instruction treatment against the control or when comparing the two treatments against each other. The MDE when comparing the full EIP package against the control is 0.145SD.
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico
IRB Approval Date
2024-12-18
IRB Approval Number
N/A