Improving Foundational Literacy and Numeracy through Call-based Assessments and Practice: An Experimental Evaluation in India

Last registered on July 27, 2026

Pre-Trial

General Information

Title

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0019249

Initial registration date

July 26, 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

July 27, 2026, 7:08 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

Ambrish Dongre

Affiliation

IIMA

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status

On going

Start date

2025-11-17

End date

2026-11-30

Keywords

Education

Additional Keywords

Parenting Intervention, Parental Enagagement, RCT; Foundational Literacy and numeracy, FLN, Education Technology, India

JEL code(s)

C93, I20, I25, J13, J24

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

We use a randomized controlled trial to investigate the impact of a large call- and WhatsApp-driven intervention aimed at enhancing parental participation in their child’s education on foundational learning outcomes of children.

The intervention consists of the following elements: a) telephonic assessment of the child using simple assessment tools, b) communicating result to the parents, c) sharing practice material over WhatsApp, and d) periodic calls to encourage parents to adopt specific practices to facilitate child’s learning.

The baseline was conducted between November 2025 and January 2026. The endline will be conducted during August to September 2026. 5644 children spread across various locations in Delhi (India) were randomized in treatment and control groups. Children in treatment group are receiving the intervention described above.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Dongre, Ambrish. 2026. "Improving Foundational Literacy and Numeracy through Call-based Assessments and Practice: An Experimental Evaluation in India." AEA RCT Registry. July 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.19249-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention Start Date

2025-12-08

Intervention End Date

2026-08-12

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

1) Whether the child has achieved foundational literacy/ numeracy?
2) Whether the child has improved at least one level (as measured through assessment tool)?
3) Improvement in the standardized scores

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Once the baseline was completed, 5644 children were randomized in treatment and control arms (child-level randomisation).

Experimental Design Details

Not available

Randomization Method

randomization done in office by a computer

Randomization Unit

Individual (child)

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

Sample size: planned number of observations

4800

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

2400 control and 2400 treatment

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name

Institutional Review Board, IIM Ahmedabad, India

IRB Approval Date

2026-02-03

IRB Approval Number

IIMA IRB 2026-01

Analysis Plan