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ERIC Number: ED611985
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Mar
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Reducing Parent-School Information Gaps and Improving Education Outcomes: Evidence from High-Frequency Text Messages. Working Paper 28581
Berlinski, Samuel; Busso, Matias; Dinkelman, Taryn; Martínez A., Claudia
National Bureau of Economic Research
Grade retention and early dropout are two of the biggest challenges facing education systems in middle-income countries today, representing waste in school resources. We investigate whether reducing parent-school information gaps can improve outcomes that are early-warning signals for grade retention and dropout. We conducted an experiment in low-income schools in Chile to test the effects and behavioral changes triggered by a program that sends attendance, grade, and classroom behavior information to parents via weekly and monthly text messages. Our 18-month intervention raised average math GPA by 0.09 of a standard deviation and increased the share of students satisfying attendance requirements for grade promotion by 4.5 percentage points. Treatment effects were larger for students at higher risk of later grade retention and dropout. We find some evidence of positive classroom spillovers. Leveraging existing school inputs to implement a light-touch, cost-effective information intervention can improve education outcomes in lower-income settings. [Funding for this report was provided by The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab and a Chilean FONIDE grant.]
National Bureau of Economic Research. 1050 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-5398. Tel: 617-588-0343; Web site: http://www.nber.org
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); Spencer Foundation
Authoring Institution: National Bureau of Economic Research
Identifiers - Location: Chile
Grant or Contract Numbers: 711272
Author Affiliations: N/A