The Review of Economics and Statistics Vol. 103 No. 2 2021
Making the Grade: The Sensitivity of Education Program Effectiveness to Input Choices and Outcome Measures
Abstract
This paper demonstrates the acute sensitivity of education program effectiveness to the choices of inputs and outcome measures, using a randomized evaluation of a mother-tongue literacy program. The program raises reading scores by 0.64 SD and writing scores by 0.45 SD. A reduced-cost version instead yields statistically insignificant reading gains and some large negative effects (−0.33 SDs) on advanced writing. We combine a conceptual model of education production with detailed classroom observations to examine the mechanisms driving the results; we show they could be driven by the program initially lowering productivity before raising it, and potentially by missing complementary inputs in the reduced-cost version.
- DOI
- 10.1162/rest_a_00911
- Volume
- 103
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 251-264
- Language
- en
- Sources
- openalex crossref