Test-optional Admissions and Job Market Performance: Experimental Evidence from Japan

Last registered on March 05, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Test-optional Admissions and Job Market Performance: Experimental Evidence from Japan
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0017930
Initial registration date
February 20, 2026

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
March 05, 2026, 6:03 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
Japan
Region
Greater Tokyo

Primary Investigator

Name
Fumiya Uchikoshi
Affiliation
Harvard University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Atsushi Yamagishi
PI Affiliation
Hitotsubashi University
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PI Name
Etienne Gagnon
PI Affiliation
Princeton University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2025-03-10
End date
2025-03-14
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
Test-optional admissions; Survey experiment; Job market; Statistical discrimination; Inequality
JEL code(s)
C91, J22, J24, J71
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We analyze how test-optional admissions affect students’ job market outcomes. We conduct an experiment that corrects employers’ misperceptions about the prevalence of test-optional admissions in Japan, where both test-optional and test-based admissions co-exist within the same schools and programs. We find that test-optional admissions function as a signal of students’ ability and induce statistical discrimination against test-optional applicants during resume screening. This discount is particularly pronounced at lower-ranked institutions, which tend to enroll students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Consequently, the adoption of test-optional admissions may disproportionately harm these students in the labor market.
External Link(s)
OSF registration

Registration Citation

Citation
Gagnon, Etienne, Fumiya Uchikoshi and Atsushi Yamagishi. 2026. "Test-optional Admissions and Job Market Performance: Experimental Evidence from Japan." AEA RCT Registry. March 05. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17930-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2025-03-10
Intervention End Date
2025-03-14

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
A 10-point scale question about how likely an applicant is to advance to the next step of respondents' company's recruitment process.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We experimentally correct this school-program misperception on the fraction of test-optional admissions by providing the treatment group with information about the true share of test-optional admissions.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
After answering baseline questions about their views on schooling and entrance examinations, respondents are randomly assigned to either the treatment or control group. Each sample is independently assigned to the treatment group with 50% probability. For both groups, we ask them to evaluate five fictitious randomly-generated job applicant profiles, based on the standard profile Japanese job applicants submit for companies' entry-level hiring for new graduates.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Our target sample size is 2,500 participants. We continue recruiting the sample until we achieve the 2,500 sample size.
Sample size: planned number of observations
Our target sample size is 2,500 participants. We continue recruiting the sample until we achieve the 2,500 sample size.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
We initially recruited 2,626 respondents, and the final sample includes the 1,362 who passed the attention check.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Harvard University ESTR
IRB Approval Date
2025-02-19
IRB Approval Number
IRB25-0073
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