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Field
Trial Status
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Before
in_development
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After
completed
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Field
Trial Start Date
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Before
August 01, 2021
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After
January 01, 2020
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Field
Trial End Date
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Before
July 31, 2022
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After
June 01, 2020
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Field
Last Published
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Before
August 02, 2021 12:24 PM
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After
June 19, 2023 10:41 AM
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Field
Intervention (Public)
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Before
We intend to conduct an evaluation of a randomized controlled trial in collaboration with Bridge International Academies, where we use non-monetary incentives in the form of a ‘Star Pupil’ recognition certificate and a badge for applauding students who perform well in their tests. Specifically, we experimentally vary whether primary school students: (1) Do not receive these incentives (Control Group), (2) receive these incentives at the individual-level that is, depending on how well the student does compared to their classmates (Treatment Group 1) and (3) receive these incentives at the classroom-level, that is, depending on how well their class does overall versus other classes in the school (Treatment Group 2).
Students are be 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.
Through this evaluation, we explore the potential for using group-level incentives for entire classes of students in place of individual level incentives in order to see whether student effort and positive peer interactions can be better incentivized.
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After
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.
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Field
Intervention Start Date
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Before
August 20, 2021
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After
January 01, 2020
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Field
Intervention End Date
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Before
June 30, 2022
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After
June 01, 2020
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Field
Primary Outcomes (End Points)
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Before
Study hours, Test scores in Math and English, attendance, classroom behavior and punishments, and achievement gaps (dispersion of achievement in a classroom and along the gender margin).
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After
Test scores
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Field
Experimental Design (Public)
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Before
We divide 112 primary schools academies across Kenya associated with Bridge International Academies equally into three groups:
1. 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).
2. 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.
3. Control: No students will gain “Star Pupil” status.
With an average class size of 15, we have over 19,000 pupils in our study sample. These include schools in both rural and urban areas.
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After
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.
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Field
Planned Number of Clusters
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Before
112 schools
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After
225 schools
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Field
Planned Number of Observations
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Before
19,000 students
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After
30,000 students
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Field
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
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Before
38 control schools, 37 schools in Treatment Arm 1 and 37 schools in Treatment Arm 2.
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After
~7,500 per arm
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Field
Intervention (Hidden)
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Before
We will implement our intervention in Grades 1-8 of all primary schools in 112 academies across Kenya associated with Bridge International Academies. With an average class size of 15, we have over 19,000 pupils in our study sample. These include schools in both rural and urban areas. We randomize assignment to a treatment group at the school level. The experiment has 3 treatment arms:
1. 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).
2. 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.
3. Control: No students will gain “Star Pupil” status.
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After
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Field
Secondary Outcomes (End Points)
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Before
We will also collect data on stress levels, attitudes towards education/learning, disruptive behavior, and study-specific behaviors such as homework completion rates. We will also study peer effects via time spent studying together and helping classmates.
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After
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Field
Building on Existing Work
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Before
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After
No
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