Peer Effects of Desk Mates on Students' Academic Outcomes—A Large-Scale Randomized Field Experiment in Hungarian Schools

Last registered on April 05, 2018

Pre-Trial

General Information

Title

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0002610

Initial registration date

April 03, 2018

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

April 05, 2018, 11:05 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country

Hungary

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Felix Elwert

Affiliation

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Tamas Keller

PI Affiliation

Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

On going

Start date

2017-04-03

End date

2018-12-31

Keywords

Education

Additional Keywords

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Abstract

We are conducting a large-scale randomized field experiment in Hungarian schools that randomly assigns students to desk mates within classrooms. We investigate how desk mates affect students’ own academic outcomes.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Elwert, Felix and Tamas Keller. 2018. "Peer Effects of Desk Mates on Students' Academic Outcomes—A Large-Scale Randomized Field Experiment in Hungarian Schools." AEA RCT Registry. April 05. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2610-1.0

Former Citation

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

We randomly assigned students to desk mates within classrooms. All students within a classroom were randomly assigned to free-standing two-person desks via unconstrained random partitioning. Teachers were instructed to employ the intended seating chart in three subjects—mathematics, Hungarian literature, and Hungarian grammar—for the duration of the fall 2017 semester.

Our primary treatment variables are (ii) desk mate's baseline (Spring 2017) GPA in math, literature, and grammar, and (ii) desk mate's gender.

Intervention Start Date

2017-09-04

Intervention End Date

2018-01-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Our primary outcome is (i) students' endline (Fall 2017) GPA in mathematics, literature, and grammar, and (ii) students' standardized reading test scores at enplane.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

We also explore the effect of desk-mate characteristics on students’ performance in teacher written (local) tests, monthly GPAs, subject-specific grades, and the like and dislike of school subjects

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

We execute a large-scale randomized field experiment in 195 classrooms of 41 Hungarian primary schools. The intervention consists of randomizing the seating chart within each classroom at the beginning of the 2017 fall semester and encouraging adherence until the end of the semester in January 2018. Endline outcomes data are collected and will become available to the research team in May 2018.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Within each classroom, we assigned students to free-standing two-person desks via unconstrained random partitioning. Randomization was based on Spring 2017 class rosters, using a computer. To account for entries and exits from the Spring class roster, we stipulated a replacement algorithm and defined the "intended seating chart" as the randomized seating chart after the application of the replacement algorithm.

Randomization Unit

Individual

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

Approximately 3,800 students in 195 classrooms of 41 schools.

Sample size: planned number of observations

Approximately 3,800 students.

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

This is a networked trial for peer effects. We analyze the outcomes of approximately 3,800 students. Each student is both subject in the analysis and serves as the peer for his or her desk mate.

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

Supporting Documents and Materials

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