Small-group tutorials in Colombia

Last registered on November 25, 2019

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Small-group tutorials in Colombia
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005110
Initial registration date
November 25, 2019

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
November 25, 2019, 10:33 AM EST

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Inter-American Development Bank

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Inter-American Development Bank
PI Affiliation
Inter-American Development Bank

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2015-03-01
End date
2018-12-31
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This RCT has two main goals. First, its most important objective is to assess the effectiveness of an intervention aimed at improving the reading skills of struggling third-grade students in Colombia. Students participated in remedial tutorials conducted during school hours in small groups. Trained teachers used structured pedagogical materials that can be easily scaled up. We designed the data collection so that to measure treatment effects during third grade and, to measure fade-out, in grade four (when no tutorials were offered). Second, we set out to implement this intervention with three cohorts of students and therefore we did a series of randomized experiments. The goal was to use the outcomes of each cohort to fine-tuned the intervention for each subsequent cohort.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Alvarez Marinelli, Horacio, Samuel Berlinski and Matias Busso. 2019. "Small-group tutorials in Colombia." AEA RCT Registry. November 25. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5110-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Remediation tutorials (of 6 students or less) that followed a structured material to improve literacy skills of third grade students who were struggling to read at the grade level. The tutorials took place during school hours, 3 days a week, 40 minutes each day and lasted 12 to 16 weeks.
Intervention Start Date
2015-07-01
Intervention End Date
2017-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
EGRA test with the following subtasks: knowledge of letter sounds, reading of non-words, fluency of oral reading and reading comprehension.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
We construct a more comprehensive measure of literacy which is a simple sum of all the items of the four subtasks.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Two subtasks of the EGMA test: additions and subtractions.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In each of the three cohorts (2015, 2016, 2017) we administered the EGRA test to all third graders at the beginning of the school year. We then used those results to determine a threshold for the population. All students whose score was below the threshold were deemed eligible. Treated students are eligible students in schools randomized to treatment. Control students are eligible students in schools randomized to control.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Schools
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
We modified the sample overtime for costs reasons. The number of schools: 94 (2015), 84 (2016), 80 (2017)
Sample size: planned number of observations
1100 (2015), 750 (2016), 700 (2017)
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
2015: 48 (T), 46 (C); 2016: 42 (T), 42 (C); 2017: 40 (T), 40 (C)
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
0.2-0.3 s.d.
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
December 31, 2017, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
December 31, 2018, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
94 (2015), 84 (2016), 80 (2017)
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
2610
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
2015: 46 (C), 48 (T); 2016: 42 (T), 42 (C); 2017: 40 (T), 40 (C)
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Program Files

Program Files
No
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials