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Implementing Educational Interventions at Scale

Author

Listed:
  • Simon Calmar Andersen

    (Aarhus Universitet)

  • Ulrik Hvidman

Abstract

Although many educational programs have demonstrated the potential to increase student learning, few examples of successful scaling exist. We study the scalability of a parent-aimed reading program that has shown promising results in an experiment within a local government. Using a nationwide experiment among the full population of 2nd-grade children in Danish public schools (n=51,312), we find that the program is less effective at large scale. We provide evidence on potential explanations for the lack of scalability, which suggests that implementation fidelity is the most important barrier to successfully scaling this type of educational interventions.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon Calmar Andersen & Ulrik Hvidman, 2020. "Implementing Educational Interventions at Scale," Working Papers 2020-039, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    • Handle: RePEc:hka:wpaper:2020-039
    Note: ECI
    as

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    File URL: http://humcap.uchicago.edu/RePEc/hka/wpaper/Andersen_Hvidman_2020_implementing-ed-interventions-at-scale.pdf
    File Function: First version, May 25, 2020
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    implementation; experiment;

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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