I gathered 77 randomized experiments (with 111 treatment arms) that evaluated the effects of school-based interventions on learning in developing-

a b s t r a c tThe paper estimates the effect of delayed school enrollment on student outcomes, using administrative data on Chilean students that include exact birth dates. Regression-discontinuity estimates, based on enrollment cutoffs, show that a one-year delay decreases the probability of repeating first grade by two percentage points, and increases fourth and eighth grade test scores by more than 0.3 standard deviations, with larger effects for boys. The paper concludes with implications for enrollment age policy.

Chapter 3. Cost Concepts 45 3.1. The Concept of Costs 46 3.2. Cost per Unit 49 3.3. Costs and the Theory of Change 51 3.4. Costs Data and Budgetary Information 54 3.5.Motivation for Cost Analysis 56 3.6. Conclusions 58 Discussion Questions 59 Exercises 59 Chapter 4. The Ingredients Method 61 4.1. Identifying Ingredients 62 4.2. Specifying Ingredients 63 4.3. Sources of Ingredients Information 71 4.4. Conclusions 74 Discussion Questions 75 Exercises 75 Chapter 5. Placing Values on Ingredients 77 5.1. Methods for Valuing Ingredients 78 5.2. Placing Dollar Values on Ingredients 82 5.3. Costs Over Multiple Years 93 5.4. Conclusions 100 Discussion Questions 100 Exercises 101 Chapter 6. Analyzing and Reporting Costs 103 6.1. Tabulating Total Cost Using a Cost Worksheet 104 6.2. Reporting Costs 109 6.3. Allocating Costs Among Constituencies 117 6.4. Analyzing Cost Determinants and Generalizing Costs 123 6.5. Conclusions 128 Discussion Questions 129 Exercises 129 Chapter 7. Effectiveness 131 7.1. Specifying Effectiveness 132 7.2. Methods for Identifying Effectiveness 141 7.3. Utility Analysis 149 7.4. Conclusions 162 Discussion Questions 163 Exercises 163 Chapter 8. Cost-Effectiveness Analysis 8.1. Cost-Effectiveness Ratios 166 8.2. Alternative Cost-Effectiveness Metrics 169

Several countries have implemented programs that use test scores to rank schools, and to reward or penalize them based on their students' average performance. Recently, Kane and Staiger (2002) have warned that imprecision in the measurement of school-level test scores could impede these efforts.There is little evidence, however, on how seriously noise hinders the evaluation of the impact of these interventions. We examine these issues in the context of Chile's P-900 program -a countrywide intervention in which resources were allocated based on cutoffs in schools' mean test scores.We show that transitory noise in average scores and mean reversion lead conventional estimation approaches to greatly overstate the impacts of such programs. We then show how a regression discontinuity design that utilizes the discrete nature of the selection rule can be used to control for reversion biases. While the RD analysis provides convincing evidence that the P-900 program had significant effects on test score gains, these effects are much smaller than is widely believed.

This paper reports estimates of peer effects on student achievement, using a 1997 census of eighth-grade achievement in Chile. The data allow detailed measures of peer characteristics to be constructed for each classroom within a school. The paper addresses the endogeneity of peer variables by including school fixed effects that control for unobserved family and student characteristics. The estimates suggest that the classroom mean of mothers' education is an important determinant of individual achievement, though subject to diminishing marginal returns. Additional specifications using family fixed effects are not suggestive that estimates are biased by within-school sorting. 

This paper assesses the relative effectiveness and efficiency of private and public schools in Chile, where the military government implemented a national voucher plan in 1980. Non-religious voucher schools (accounting for two-thirds of primary enrollments in all private voucher schools) are marginally less effective than public schools in producing academic achievement in the fourth grade; at best, they are similarly effective. Catholic voucher schools are somewhat more effective than public schools. Nevertheless, non-religious schools are more efficient, by virtue of producing academic achievement at a lower cost. The difference is probably attributable to lower teacher wages and constraints on public school resource allocation. The relative efficiency of public and Catholic schools is similar. We tentatively conclude that the case for shifting public resources to privately run schools is mixed (although a comprehensive evaluation would require evidence not provided by this research).

Many studies have explored the links between music and children’s outcomes; however, study designs have not been sufficiently rigorous to support causal findings. This study aims to assess the effects of a large-scale music program on children’s developmental functioning in the context of high rates of exposure to violence. The paper describes the results of an experimental evaluation of Venezuela’s National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras. The curriculum of the program, better known as “El Sistema,” emphasizes social interactions through group instruction and group performances. The randomized control trial was conducted in 16 music centers between May 2012 and November 2013. In total, 2914 children ages 6–14 participated in the experiment, with approximately half receiving an offer of admission to the program in September 2012 and half in September 2013. The treatment group children participated for one semester more than the control group children. After 1 year, full-sample ITT estimates indicate improved self-control (by 0.10 standard deviations) and reduced behavioral difficulties (by 0.08 standard deviations), both significant at 10% after controlling for multiple hypothesis testing. There were no full-sample effects on other domains. Sub-sample effects are larger among (1) children with less-educated mothers and (2) boys, especially those exposed to violence at baseline. In the latter subgroup, we find lower levels of aggressive behavior. We find that the program improved self-control and reduced behavioral difficulties, with the effects concentrated among subgroups of vulnerable children. The results suggest the importance of devising mechanisms to target resources to the most vulnerable children.Trial registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02369315 Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11121-016-0727-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The Honduran PRAF experiment randomly assigned conditional cash transfers to 40 of 70 poor municipalities, within five strata defined by a poverty proxy. Using census data, we show that eligible children were 8 percentage points more likely to enroll in school and 3 percentage points less likely to work. The effects were much larger in the two poorest strata, and statistically insignificant in the other three (the latter finding is robust to the use of a separate regression-discontinuity design). Heterogeneity confirms the importance of judicious targeting to maximize the impact and cost-effectiveness of CCTs. There is no consistent evidence of effects on ineligible children or on adult labor supply.