Remedying Education: Evidence from Two Randomized Experiments in India

61 Pages Posted: 6 Feb 2006 Last revised: 15 Apr 2024

See all articles by Shawn Allen Cole

Shawn Allen Cole

Harvard Business School

Abhijit V. Banerjee

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Economics

Esther Duflo

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Economics; Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD)

Leigh L. Linden

The University of Texas at Austin; National Bureau of Economic Research; Jameel Poverty Action Lab; Innovations for Poverty Action; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA); Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD)

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Date Written: December 2005

Abstract

Many efforts to improve school quality by adding school resources have proven to be ineffective. This paper presents the results of two experiments conducted in Mumbai and Vadodara, India, designed to evaluate ways to improve the quality of education in urban slums. A remedial education program hired young women from the community to teach basic literacy and numeracy skills to children lagging behind in government schools. We find the program to be very effective: it increased average test scores of all children in treatment schools by 0.14 standard deviations in the first year, and 0.28 in the second year, relative to comparison schools. A computer-assisted learning program provided each child in the fourth grade with two hours of shared computer time per week, in which students played educational games that reinforced mathematics skills. The program was also very effective, increasing math scores by 0.35 standard deviations the first year, and 0.47 the second year. These results were not limited to the period in which students received assistance, but persisted for at least one year after leaving the program. Two instrumental variable strategies suggest that while remedial education benefited the children who attended the remedial classes, their classmates, who did not attend the remedial courses but did experience smaller classes, did not post gains, confirming that resources alone may not be sufficient to improve outcomes.

Suggested Citation

Cole, Shawn Allen and Banerjee, Abhijit V. and Duflo, Esther and Linden, Leigh L., Remedying Education: Evidence from Two Randomized Experiments in India (December 2005). NBER Working Paper No. w11904, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=872740

Shawn Allen Cole

Harvard Business School ( email )

Soldiers Field Road
Morgan 270C
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Abhijit V. Banerjee

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Economics ( email )

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Room E52-252D
Cambridge, MA 02142
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617-253-8855 (Phone)
617-253-6915 (Fax)

Esther Duflo (Contact Author)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Economics ( email )

50 Memorial Drive
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617-253-6915 (Fax)

Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) ( email )

Cambridge, MA
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.povertyactionlab.org/

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
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United States

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD) ( email )

Duke University
Durham, NC 90097
United States

Leigh L. Linden

The University of Texas at Austin ( email )

Austin, TX 78712
United States
+1 (512) 475-8556 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.leighlinden.com

National Bureau of Economic Research ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.leighlinden.com

Jameel Poverty Action Lab ( email )

30 Wadsworth Street, E53-320
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02142
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.leighlinden.com

Innovations for Poverty Action ( email )

1731 Connecticut Ave, 4th floor
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United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.leighlinden.com

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD) ( email )

Duke University
Durham, NC 90097
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.leighlinden.com

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