Testing Inequality: Skill building on Standardized Exam Outcomes

Last registered on May 30, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Testing Inequality: Skill building on Standardized Exam Outcomes
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0016097
Initial registration date
May 27, 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 30, 2025, 9:48 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Ecuador
Region
South America

Primary Investigator

Name
JOSELIN SEGOVIA
Affiliation
Universidad de Cuenca
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Eric Bettinger
PI Affiliation
Stanford University
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PI Name
María Paz Urgilés
PI Affiliation
Universidad de Cuenca
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Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2022-09-01
End date
2025-02-28
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
inequality, standardized tests, college entrance
JEL code(s)
C93, I24, J24, 015
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
College enrollment remains highly stratified by socioeconomic status throughout the world and especially in Latin America. College entrance exams have received worldwide criticism about its validity in countries such as the US, China, Brazil, Turkey and Chile, with a shared concern for the role of wealth in student outcomes. The importance of college exams has led to a significant market for test preparation services, which is most likely accessible to economically advantaged students. We consider a simple case where preparation can lead to two types of knowledge are necessary for entrance exams – cognitive, measurable knowledge and test-specific knowledge, knowledge about the process and rules of the exam. We focus on providing test taking preparation to economically disadvantaged students. We show that socioeconomic gaps can be reduced by augmenting both types of knowledge. The training focused on both mathematical knowledge and detailed information about the nature of the exam.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Bettinger, Eric, JOSELIN SEGOVIA and María Paz Urgilés. 2025. "Testing Inequality: Skill building on Standardized Exam Outcomes." AEA RCT Registry. May 30. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16097-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2022-12-01
Intervention End Date
2023-05-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The primary outcome is the after-treatment score achieved, the number of correct answers and the number of attempted answers.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This study uses a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the impact of providing economically disadvantaged students with preparation for standardized tests. The study targets students entering third year of public high schools in the urban area of Cuenca, Ecuador. We randomly assign classrooms within schools to the treatment group, which received training that covered topics on numerical and logical reasoning through both guided and independent practice. The control group did not receive any coaching and continued with the regular school activities. The schools are selected using a national performance ranking from past entrance exams to the public university system. The program is implemented within school class hours in coordination with the directors in the participating schools. The program evaluation compares outcomes such as scores, attempts and correctedness between students in treatment and control schools to assess the effectiveness of the intervention.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office
Randomization Unit
Randomization unit is the classroom, with measurement at the individual level
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
The number of clusters is 75 classrooms
Sample size: planned number of observations
The full sample consists of 1,955 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Around 975 students in the treatment and 975 students in the control 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
University of Barcelona
IRB Approval Date
2023-07-13
IRB Approval Number
IRB00003099
IRB Name
Universidad de Cuenca
IRB Approval Date
2021-11-09
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

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