Parent skills and information asymmetries: Experimental evidence from home visits and text messages in middle and high schools

Abstract

This paper studies the ability to foster parent skills and resolve information problems as a means to improving student achievement. We conducted a three-arm randomized control trial in which community-based organizations provided regular information to families about their child’s academic progress in one arm and supplemented this with home visits on skills-based information in a separate arm. Math and reading test scores improved for the treatment arm with home visits. There are large effects on retention for both groups during the year, though learning gains tend to accrue for students with average-and-above baseline performance and students at the lower end of the distribution appear marginally retained.