Zooming into the Education Production Function

Last registered on October 27, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Zooming into the Education Production Function
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0017042
Initial registration date
October 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
October 27, 2025, 9:17 AM 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
Anna Person
Affiliation
University of Cologne
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Marianna Battaglia
PI Affiliation
University of Alicante
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PI Name
Rebecca Edwards
PI Affiliation
University of Sydney
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PI Name
Thomas Siedler
PI Affiliation
University of Potsdam
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PI Name
Theresa Henkel
PI Affiliation
University of Potsdam
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-11-06
End date
2026-06-30
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
digital learning, at-home study
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study investigates how the medium of supplemental instructional content—video versus text—affects student performance and studying behavior at home in a flipped-classroom setting. Using within-subject randomized controlled trials embedded in the courses “Introduction to Economics” and “Introduction to Statistics” at the University of Potsdam, “Introduction to Statistics” at the University of Alicante, “Intermediate Econometrics” at the University of Sydney, and “Applied Econometrics” at the University of Cologne, the analysis isolates the causal effects of content delivery format on test performance and study behavior. The research project is of particular importance given the rising relevance of digital learning environments and the ongoing shift in instructional strategies in higher education.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Battaglia, Marianna et al. 2025. "Zooming into the Education Production Function." AEA RCT Registry. October 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17042-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2025-11-09
Intervention End Date
2026-05-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Proportion of correct responses per test; Study behavior at home.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
The primary outcome variable is the proportion of correct responses on each assessment. It quantifies the performance of individual i in test a, representing the fraction of correctly answered questions in that specific test.
The secondary outcome measures students’ study behavior by analyzing how often students voluntarily complete tests that are not part of the official lecture assessments. Each week, students participate in one in-class test in Econometrics or Statistics, which is based either on
reading material or video content. Over the following days—until the next in-class test takes place—we track how often these students choose to complete additional, non-mandatory single- and multiple-choice questions on their own at home. It is defined as the number of voluntary, non-mandatory questions each student completes from home during the interval between two consecutive in-class lectures.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The aim of this study is to investigate the causal effect of different formats of supplemental lecture material - video versus text - on student learning and studying behavior at home. During on-site curricular lectures, we randomly assign each student to either watch a video or read a text about a specific topic, keeping the content identical across participants within the same session. We then assess their understanding of the topic using a brief multiple-choice test.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization carried out by the testing platform on which students see the video or read the text before answering the questions.
Randomization Unit
individual level
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
No clusters
Sample size: planned number of observations
1000 students ca.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
500 students assigned to watch a video, 500 students assigned to read a text.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethikkommission Universität Potsdam
IRB Approval Date
2025-05-22
IRB Approval Number
21/2025
Analysis Plan

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