Evaluating the Effectiveness of Behavioral Interventions at the Goodwill Excel Center in Central Texas

Last registered on September 24, 2020
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Behavioral Interventions at the Goodwill Excel Center in Central Texas
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0006383
Initial registration date
September 07, 2020

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
September 08, 2020, 8:35 AM EDT

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

Last updated
September 24, 2020, 1:11 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Patrick Turner
Affiliation
University of Notre Dame
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Patrick Turner
PI Affiliation
University of Notre Dame, Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2020-09-14
End date
2025-12-01
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
Adult high school, high school diploma, persistence and completion
JEL code(s)
D02, D04, I21, I39
Secondary IDs
Abstract
The Goodwill Excel Center in Austin, Texas is a tuition-free public charter school that provides adults 18 to 50 the resources, guidance, and instruction to earn a high school diploma. In addition to their accelerated program towards completing high school, the Excel Center offers free on-site childcare, transportation vouchers, flexible scheduling options, and opportunities to earn industry-recognized certificates and/or college credits towards degrees at local colleges and universities. With a completion rate of 28 percent, the Excel Center is interested in improving program persistence. To do so, the Excel Center is establishing a new Career and College Readiness Coach (CCRC), as well as a goal-setting intervention followed by daily text message reminders to students. Partnering with the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO), the Excel Center is interested in evaluating the effectiveness of these interventions towards improving outcomes like completion rates, employment and earnings, and post-secondary enrollment and completion.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Turner, Patrick and Patrick Turner. 2020. "Evaluating the Effectiveness of Behavioral Interventions at the Goodwill Excel Center in Central Texas ." AEA RCT Registry. September 24. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.6383-2.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The Goodwill Excel Center in Austin, TX is establishing a new Career and College Readiness Coach (CCRC), as well as a goal-setting intervention followed by text message reminders to students. The CCRC will lead career development and coaching activities, provide one-on-one support, and cultivate relationships with employers and/or training programs in order to connect them with participating Excel Center students. The text message program is designed to form positive educational habits in students by providing reminders of their longer-term goals.
Intervention Start Date
2020-09-14
Intervention End Date
2025-09-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Academic achievement, additional certifications/credentials obtained, graduation, post-secondary enrollment, income, employment status.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Subgroup analysis conducted by groups based on variables like gender, race/ethnicity, new and returning students, high and low discount rate, and age.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Students in the study will be entered into a lottery to either (a) receive both College and Career Readiness Coach (CCRC) and text message reminder services (“Treatment Arm 1”), (b) receive only text message reminder services (“Treatment Arm 2”), or (c) receive only business-as-usual services (control). The target sample group is individuals enrolling and/or already enrolled at the Goodwill Excel Center in Austin, TX. The target sample size is 1000 total across the three randomly assigned groups. After completing the informed consent process, students will be entered into the random lottery. After learning the results of the lottery, Excel Center staff will communicate with students about their next steps. Estimated differences in outcomes will be assessed using a standard intent-to-treat (ITT) model.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer from a list of students that are eligible for the study and have agreed to research.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Not applicable
Sample size: planned number of observations
1000 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
The trial includes roughly one third of participants (approximately 333 individuals) in the control group, and one third in each treatment arm (receiving both the College and Career Readiness Coach and text messages, or just text messages).
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Notre Dame
IRB Approval Date
2020-08-26
IRB Approval Number
20-07-6120
Analysis Plan