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Information search among high school students in India

Last registered on December 02, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Information search among high school students in India
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0017369
Initial registration date
November 30, 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
December 01, 2025, 12:03 PM EST

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

Last updated
December 02, 2025, 2:31 PM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Rajdev Brar
Affiliation
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Gursmeep (Rubina) Hundal
PI Affiliation
University of Chicago
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-12-01
End date
2028-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Education, Gender, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This randomized evaluation studies how Grade 10 students in government-aided schools in Maharashtra, India choose diploma/junior colleges and academic tracks (Science, Commerce, Arts, Diploma, ITI). While these decisions substantially influence future educational and labor market trajectories, many students make these choices with limited knowledge of admissions requirements, cutoffs, and future opportunities.

We will conduct a school-level randomized controlled trial in approximately 74 schools. In treatment schools, students will receive a Guided Search worksheet that helps them identify feasible diploma/junior college-track combinations and record key information on eligibility criteria and reservations-category cutoffs. A randomly-selected subset of students may also receive light-touch reminders and basic information about junior college admissions after board exams but before registration, subject to partner feasibility.

We will measure effects on academic performance, informed choice and feasibility, and admission outcomes. Depending on partner engagement and sample availability, we may extend or expand this design in Year 2 to study mechanisms more directly. Any such changes will be submitted as registered amendments prior to implementation.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Brar, Rajdev and Gursmeep (Rubina) Hundal. 2025. "Information search among high school students in India." AEA RCT Registry. December 02. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17369-1.1
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Students in the treatment group will receive a semi-structured worksheet designed to encourage active information search about feasible diploma/junior college-track combinations, taking into account eligibility criteria and reservation categories. Students will be informed that the activity will be followed by a short in-class assessment to support engagement.

After board exams, but before the diploma/junior college application window opens, a random subset of students will receive light-touch information and reminders admissions.
Intervention Start Date
2025-12-01
Intervention End Date
2027-10-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Our primary outcomes are:
1. Academic performance: Measured using standardized board exam scores.
2. Informed choice and feasibility: Captures whether students make realistic and well-informed diploma/junior college-track selections.
3. Admission outcomes: Measures whether students are admitted to diploma/junior college, whether they enroll in a higher option-value track (where Science > Commerce > Arts, and Polytechnic Diploma > ITI)
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary outcomes include:
1. Psychological measures (e.g., hope, self-esteem)
2. Aspirations
3. Decision confidence
4. Academic effort
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
For primary and secondary outcomes, we will examine heterogeneity along the following pre-specified characteristics: gender, social category, baseline academic performance, restrictive gender norms, and complexity of the student’s choice set.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Randomization for the Guided search intervention will be at the school level. In each school, one Grade 10 classroom will be randomly selected, and up to 30 students in that classroom will be randomly chosen to participate in the activity.

Randomization for the post-board exam information/reminder component will be at the individual level.

Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization was conducted using a random number generator on computer:
- School-level randomization
- Randomly selected one classroom in multiple-division schools
- Randomly selecting 30 students in classrooms with more than 30 students
- Randomly select students for post-board exam information/reminder activity
Randomization Unit
Schools are the unit of randomization for the Guided search intervention. In schools with multiple Grade 10 classrooms, one classroom is randomly-selected. If that classroom has more than 30 students, 30 students are randomly chosen for the main study sample.
Individuals are the unit of randomization for the post-board exam information/reminder activity.

For school randomization, we stratify on:
1. Above/below median percent of students in open/general category
2. Whether school is located in an area with high concentration of junior colleges
3. School type is Class 10 without a junior college attached (versus school type is Class 10 with attached junior college, or school type is up to Class 12)
4. Whether the selected classroom has more than 30 students
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Approximately 74 classrooms in Year 1
Sample size: planned number of observations
Approximately 74 schools (one classroom per school) in Year 1 (37 control, 37 treatment), with up to 30 students per classroom, yielding a maximum of 2,220 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
37 control schools, 37 treatment schools
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Committee for Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS), UC Berkeley
IRB Approval Date
2025-08-12
IRB Approval Number
2024-12-18083
Analysis Plan