The impact of diagnostic feedback on differentiated instruction: Experimental evidence from India

Last registered on August 15, 2017

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The impact of diagnostic feedback on differentiated instruction: Experimental evidence from India
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0002161
Initial registration date
August 15, 2017

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
August 15, 2017, 4:39 PM EDT

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
New York University

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
J-PAL South Asia
PI Affiliation
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2017-09-15
End date
2018-06-15
Secondary IDs
Abstract
There is mounting evidence suggesting that there is considerable heterogeneity in student preparation in primary schools in India. The largest education non-profit in India, Pratham, developed a pedagogical approach called "Teaching at the Right Level" (TaRL) that provides differentiated instruction to primary schoolchildren to address heterogeneity in preparation. However, persuading teachers to change business-as-usual instruction to incorporate this--or any other--method of differentiated instruction is challenging. Therefore, it seems worth understanding whether making the results of the assessments of basic reading and arithmetic skills more salient to teachers, and signaling the government’s commitment to improving these results, would encourage teachers to adopt TaRL on their own during school hours. We plan to randomly assign 200 public primary schools in the Indian state of Karnataka to: (a) a "control" group that would implement TaRL and receive no additional interventions; or (b) a "treatment" group that would also implement TaRL and receive periodic school report cards with results from student assessments of basic reading and arithmetic skills, accompanied by a letter from a high-level government official communicating the importance of improving those results. The study would focus on schoolchildren in grades 4 and 5, where TaRL has been found to be most effective.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Banerjee, Abhijit V., Alejandro Ganimian and Shobhini Mukerji. 2017. "The impact of diagnostic feedback on differentiated instruction: Experimental evidence from India." AEA RCT Registry. August 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2161-1.0
Former Citation
Banerjee, Abhijit V., Alejandro Ganimian and Shobhini Mukerji. 2017. "The impact of diagnostic feedback on differentiated instruction: Experimental evidence from India." AEA RCT Registry. August 15. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2161/history/20441
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The feedback component would include: (a) a brief and user-friendly report on the basic math and reading skills of students in grades 4 and 5, based on the teacher-administered tests; and (b) an accompanying letter from the district magistrate highlighting the importance of improving children’s performance on these assessments by implementing OK. There will be two reports: one shortly after the baseline and another one shortly after the midline.
Intervention Start Date
2017-12-01
Intervention End Date
2018-03-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The study would evaluate the impact of the feedback intervention on the learning outcomes of school children, as measured by both the ASER tests and independent written assessments in basic reading and arithmetic skills, as well as the implementation of TaRL in the classrooms.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The 200 schools selected for the study would be randomly assigned to one of two groups: (a) “control group” that would implement TaRL, but not receive feedback (~100 schools); or (b) a “treatment group” that would implement TaRL and receive feedback (~100 schools).
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
The randomization (that is, identifying schools as treatment or control schools) will be done by running a Stata code on a computer in office.
Randomization Unit
The randomization will be done at the school level. The sample of schools will be stratified by district and size (i.e., number of students enrolled in grades 4 and 5).
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
The study will consist of 200 schools.
Sample size: planned number of observations
There will be 10,200 observations consisting of: - 600 teachers (2 teachers and 1 principal per school) and, - 10000 students (an average of 50 students per school)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
A treatment group of about 100 schools will implement TaRL and receive feedback.
A control group of about 100 schools will implement TaRL, but not receive feedback.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Institute for Financial Management and Research
IRB Approval Date
2017-04-28
IRB Approval Number
n/a
IRB Name
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
IRB Approval Date
2017-06-22
IRB Approval Number
1705966111

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