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General

Study Overview

Title:

The Effect of Better Quality Information on School Choice in Uganda

Study is 3ie funded:

No

Study ID:

RIDIE-STUDY-ID-594a089147446

Initial Registration Date:

06/21/2017

Last Update Date:

05/30/2017

Study Status:

In Development

Location(s):

Uganda

Abstract:

information plays a key part in social accountability theory which argues that transparent performance information can drive citizens to use their voice to support or challenge service providers (such as schools) to improve. We study the effect of the publication of a new ranking of the top 100 schools by the Ministry of Education in Uganda on numbers of new applications for places at schools. Using a regression discontinuity design, this research project aims to investigate the impact of this league table publication on school choice by comparing interest and enrolment in these schools before and after publication, as well as comparing against similar schools.

Registration Citation:

Crawfurd, L. and Morley, S., 2017. The Effect of Better Quality Information on School Choice in Uganda. Registry for International Development for Impact Evaluations (RIDIE). Available at: 10.23846/ridie116

Categories:

Education

Additional Keywords:

value-added, information, school choice, regression discontinuity

Secondary ID Number(s):

Principal Investigator(s)

Name of First PI:

Lee Crawfurd

Affiliation:

Ark EPG

Name of Second PI:

Sabina Morley

Affiliation:

University of Oxford

Study Sponsor

Name:

Ark EPG

Study Sponsor Location:

United Kingdom

Research Partner

Name of Partner Institution:

Type of Organization:

Location:

Intervention

Intervention Overview

Intervention:

In 2016, the Ministry of Education in Uganda shared a new national ranking of secondary schools based on value-added scores with one of the country’s leading newspaper publications, The Daily Monitor. In September 2016, the newspaper published a league table listing the top 100 secondary schools on the front page alongside case studies and quotes from some of the featured schools.

Theory of Change:

Multiple Treatment Arms Evaluated?

No

Implementing Agency

Name of Organization:

Ministry of Education and Sports

Type of Organization:

Public Sector, e.g. Government Agency or Ministry

Program Funder

Name of Organization:

n/a

Type of Organization:

Public Sector, e.g. Government Agency or Ministry

Intervention Timing

Intervention or Program Started at time of Registration?

Yes

Start Date:

09/07/2016

End Date:

01/30/2017

Evaluation Method

Evaluation Method Overview

Primary (or First) Evaluation Method:

Regression discontinuity

Other (not Listed) Method:

Additional Evaluation Method (If Any):

Other (not Listed) Method:

Method Details

Details of Evaluation Approach:

We will employ a sharp regression-discontinuity design, comparing whether there is a jump at the cut-off threshold between the treatment and control groups in the outcome variable.

Outcomes (Endpoints):

The key outcomes for the study are the change in the number of applications for new places at the school, and the change in the number of new students entering the school.

Unit of Analysis:

The school

Hypotheses:

Main hypothesis: Positive school performance data presented via newspaper league tables influences decisions on school choice, as measured by increased applications and enrolment. The key outcome of interest here is school choice, which will be measured by the change in the number of applications and enrolment of students before and after intervention in comparison with the control group. The causal chain and mechanism: the impact of school performance data depends on how widely it is shared with school users (i.e. if the league table is actively disseminated and emphasised by school leaders as measured by question 7) and if the information is new (if schools had not appeared in Division 1 league tables previously, as measured by question 16 and 17).

Unit of Intervention or Assignment:

Schools

Number of Clusters in Sample:

Number of Individuals in Sample:

200

Size of Treatment, Control, or Comparison Subsamples:

100 treatment schools and 100 control schools.

Supplementary Files

Analysis Plan:

Pre analysis plan 290517.docx

Other Documents:

Data

Outcomes Data

Description:

The outcomes will be measured through a telephone interview with school head teachers.

Data Already Collected?

No

Data Previously Used?

Data Access:

Data Obtained by the Study Researchers?

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Treatment Assignment Data

Participation or Assignment Information:

Yes

Description:

Data Obtained by the Study Researchers?

Data Previously Used?

Data Access:

Data Obtained by the Study Researchers?

Data Approval Process:

Approval Status:

Data Analysis

Data Analysis Status:

Study Materials

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Registration Category

Registration Category:

Prospective, Category 1: Data for measuring impacts have not been collected

Completion

Completion Overview

Intervention Completion Date:

Data Collection Completion Date:

Unit of Analysis:

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Total Observations in Final Sample:

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Findings

Preliminary Report:

Preliminary Report URL:

Summary of Findings:

Paper:

Paper Summary:

Paper Citation:

Data Availability

Data Availability (Primary Data):

Date of Data Availability:

Data URL or Contact:

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Other Materials

Survey:

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Program Files:

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External Link:

External Link Description:

Description of Changes:

Study Stopped

Date:

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