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

Last registered on August 15, 2017

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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

Last updated

August 15, 2017 4:39 PM EDT

Location(s)

Country

India

Region

Karnataka

Primary Investigator

Name

Alejandro Ganimian

Affiliation

New York University

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Shobhini Mukerji

PI Affiliation

J-PAL South Asia

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Abhijit V. Banerjee

PI Affiliation

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2017-09-15

End date

2018-06-15

Keywords

Education

Additional Keywords

JEL code(s)

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, 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 et al. 2017. "The impact of diagnostic feedback on differentiated instruction: Experimental evidence from India." AEA RCT Registry. August 15. http://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

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)

Supporting Documents and Materials

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