School Administrators and K-12 School Discipline

Last registered on May 21, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
School Administrators and K-12 School Discipline
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0016050
Initial registration date
May 20, 2025

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
May 21, 2025, 4:10 PM EDT

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
Sarah Komisarow
Affiliation
Duke University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-05-21
End date
2026-06-30
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
K-12 School Discipline, K-12 School Administrators
JEL code(s)
I29
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study experimentally examines factors affecting K-12 school administrators' decisions about consequences for student misbehavior in school.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Komisarow, Sarah. 2025. "School Administrators and K-12 School Discipline." AEA RCT Registry. May 21. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16050-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Participants will be assigned to assess student records containing random variations of characteristics.
Intervention Start Date
2025-05-21
Intervention End Date
2025-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The primary outcome is whether the participant assigns suspension as punishment after reviewing the student record.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Participants will be asked to assess student records containing randomized elements. School administrators will be asked to make a decision about school discipline after reviewing the student record.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization via Qualtrics after opt-in to survey
Randomization Unit
Individual randomization (following opt-in to survey) within strata defined by state (two) and school level (three).
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Randomization will not be clustered
Sample size: planned number of observations
3,354 school administrators invited. Assuming 10% take-up of survey invitation, the sample will have 335 administrators.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
335 school administrators will be randomized to four groups defined by random assignment of (1) student race (two categories) and (2) discipline history (two categories). This will result in 84 school administrators per group.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Duke University Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2025-04-21
IRB Approval Number
2025-0424
Analysis Plan

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