AEA RCT Registry

Trial Information

General Information

Title

The Efficacy of Classroom Incentives: Experimental evidence from Kenya

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0008000

Initial registration date

July 27, 2021

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 02, 2021, 12:24 PM EDT

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

Last updated

June 19, 2023, 10:41 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country

Kenya

Region

Primary Investigator

Name

Ronak Jain

Affiliation

Harvard University

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Brandon Tan

PI Affiliation

Harvard University

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

Completed

Start date

2020-01-01

End date

2020-06-01

Keywords

Behavior, Education

Additional Keywords

Incentives, Peer Effects, Motivation

JEL code(s)

D91, I24, I25, C93

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

Many students in developing countries still lag behind their grade in learning. One strategy to motivate student effort and achievement that has received considerable attention is providing short-term monetary or non-monetary incentives at the individual level. In our project, we seek to study whether the provision of non-monetary incentives at the classroom level might be more effective and inclusive for pupils. Non-monetary incentives are low cost and uncontroversial with potentially large effects on learning outcomes.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Jain, Ronak and Brandon Tan. 2023. "The Efficacy of Classroom Incentives: Experimental evidence from Kenya." AEA RCT Registry. June 19. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8000-1.1

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

We implement our intervention in Grades 1-8 of all primary schools in 225 academies across Kenya associated with Bridge International Academies. The organization operates over 300 primary low-cost private schools in Kenya which cater to economically disadvantaged populations. Pupils can enroll in grades 1-8 (primary school grades in Kenya). The academic year in Kenya runs from January - November and comprises of three terms. All pupils in Bridge Academies sit a mid-term and end-term test every term in Math, Science, Kiswahili, English and Social Studies administered and assessed by Bridge internally. With an average class size of 15, we have over 30,000 pupils in our study sample. The sample includes schools in both rural and urban areas.

We randomized assignment to a treatment group at the school level. Schools in our sample were divided equally into the following four arms:

Individual-level incentives: The top 2 students in every class based on individual-level average achievement in Math and English will earn “Star Pupil” status (described below).
Classroom-level incentives: All students in a class who belong to the top class in each school based on classroom-level average achievement in Math and English will earn “Star Pupil” status.
Both incentives: Students who are the top scorers in their class based on individual-level achievement or who belong to the top class based on classroom-level average achievement in Math and English within each school will gain “Star Pupil” status. Students belonging to either of these groups gets the rewards. If the student belongs to both the groups, the rewards are still only given once.
Control: No students will gain “Star Pupil” status.

Students are given this status at the end of each term depending on their school’s assigned treatment group. As a “Star Pupil”, a student gains the following two benefits:

1. A certificate and recognition for being a “Star Pupil” at a school assembly and at parent-teacher conferences.
2. A special badge that students can wear to school for the first two weeks of the next term.

Intervention Start Date

2020-01-01

Intervention End Date

2020-06-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Test scores

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

We implement our intervention in Grades 1-8 of all primary schools in 225 academies across Kenya associated with Bridge International Academies. The organization operates over 300 primary low-cost private schools in Kenya which cater to economically disadvantaged populations. Pupils can enroll in grades 1-8 (primary school grades in Kenya). The academic year in Kenya runs from January - November and comprises of three terms. All pupils in Bridge Academies sit a mid-term and end-term test every term in Math, Science, Kiswahili, English and Social Studies administered and assessed by Bridge internally. With an average class size of 15, we have over 30,000 pupils in our study sample. The sample includes schools in both rural and urban areas.

We randomized assignment to a treatment group at the school level. Schools in our sample were divided equally into the following four arms:

Individual-level incentives: The top 2 students in every class based on individual-level average achievement in Math and English will earn “Star Pupil” status (described below).
Classroom-level incentives: All students in a class who belong to the top class in each school based on classroom-level average achievement in Math and English will earn “Star Pupil” status.
Both incentives: Students who are the top scorers in their class based on individual-level achievement or who belong to the top class based on classroom-level average achievement in Math and English within each school will gain “Star Pupil” status. Students belonging to either of these groups gets the rewards. If the student belongs to both the groups, the rewards are still only given once.
Control: No students will gain “Star Pupil” status.

Students are given this status at the end of each term depending on their school’s assigned treatment group. As a “Star Pupil”, a student gains the following two benefits:

1. A certificate and recognition for being a “Star Pupil” at a school assembly and at parent-teacher conferences.
2. A special badge that students can wear to school for the first two weeks of the next term.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Computer randomization.

Randomization Unit

We randomize assignment to a treatment group at the school level.

Was the treatment clustered?

Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

225 schools

Sample size: planned number of observations

30,000 students

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

~7,500 per arm

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

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name

Harvard University Area IRB

IRB Approval Date

2021-02-18

IRB Approval Number

IRB20-2020

Analysis Plan

The Efficacy of Classroom Incentives: Experimental evidence from Kenya

Pre-Trial

General Information

Locations

Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Registration Citation

Interventions

Primary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes

Experimental Design

Experiment Characteristics

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

Post-Trial

Study Withdrawal

Intervention

Data Publication

Program Files

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials