Impact Evaluation of the “Expande tu Mente” Program: Enhancing Non-Cognitive Skills to Improve Academic Achievement in Asunción and Central, Paraguay

Last registered on October 06, 2025
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Impact Evaluation of the “Expande tu Mente” Program: Enhancing Non-Cognitive Skills to Improve Academic Achievement in Asunción and Central, Paraguay
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0016915
Initial registration date
October 01, 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
October 06, 2025, 11:34 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Paraguay
Region
Asunción and Central

Primary Investigator

Name
Rodolfo Elías
Affiliation
Instituto Desarrollo
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
José Molinas Vega
PI Affiliation
Instituto Desarrollo
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Bruno Martínez
PI Affiliation
Instituto Desarrollo
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Claudio Cappello Irrazábal
PI Affiliation
Instituto Desarrollo
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2024-02-01
End date
2026-02-01
Keywords
Behavior, Education
Additional Keywords
Non-cognitive skills, educational intervention, academic achievement, randomized controlled trial, primary education
JEL code(s)
I21, I28, C93, O15
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study evaluates the “Expande tu Mente” methodology, a classroom-based intervention designed to strengthen non-cognitive skills as a pathway to improved learning outcomes. Implemented in 100 public schools in Asunción and Central, Paraguay, the program targeted sixth-grade students and was delivered through trained pedagogical coordinators who supported teachers in carrying out structured activities emphasizing perseverance and effort. A cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted, with academic achievement measured through teacher-assigned grades in Spanish Language and Mathematics. The analysis used probit regressions under an Intention-to-Treat framework with cluster-robust standard errors, complemented by Average Marginal Effects for interpretability. Results show no statistically significant impact of the intervention on the probability of achieving academic excellence in either subject. Baseline performance emerged as the strongest predictor of endline success, highlighting the persistence of prior achievement. These findings suggest that short-term psychosocial interventions may require sustained exposure and complementary strategies to yield measurable academic improvements.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Cappello Irrazábal, Claudio et al. 2025. "Impact Evaluation of the “Expande tu Mente” Program: Enhancing Non-Cognitive Skills to Improve Academic Achievement in Asunción and Central, Paraguay." AEA RCT Registry. October 06. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16915-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2024-08-16
Intervention End Date
2025-12-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
To measure the effect of non-cognitive skills, such as motivation, perseverance and taking on challenges, on the improvement of the academic performance of eighth grade students from schools in Asunción and the Central department, through a randomized controlled trial (RCT).
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study uses a cluster-randomized controlled trial design, implemented in 100 public urban schools in Asunción and the Central Department, targeting sixth-grade students. The randomization unit is the school. Before assignment, these institutions are grouped into strata based on criteria such as their district, size, and socioeconomic characteristics to ensure comparability between the groups.

Once stratified, the schools are randomly assigned to one of two analysis groups. The treatment group receives an intervention on the growth of intelligence ("Expande tu Mente") and the control group that receives none of the intervention. The main objective is to measure the individual effect of this program on students' academic performance, using anonymized grade data.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Stata.
Randomization Unit
The randomization unit is the school. Each school represents a cluster or group.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
100 Schools.
Sample size: planned number of observations
5,500 pupils
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
50 schools (Control) and 50 schools (Treatment).
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

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