Experimental Evidence on the Effects (or Lack Thereof) of Informational Framing During the College Transition

Abstract

Technology-facilitated interventions following high school graduation have shown promise for increasing the likelihood of college matriculation, but we know little about how to fine-tune these tools. I conducted an experiment in which college-intending Tennessee high school graduates received informational messages in distinct behavioral frames: business-as-usual, in which they received the same messages as the prior cohort; loss aversion, which emphasized what students would lose if they did not act; reduction of ambiguity, which provided details on necessary actions and anticipated completion times; and peer support, which encouraged students to work with friends on enrollment tasks. There was no main effect of the treatment frames. Heterogeneity analyses suggest that, at certain eligibility checkpoints, a loss aversion frame may negatively affect men and the peer support frame may negatively affect first-generation and Black participants. I situate the findings in the literature and recommend future directions for research on informational intervention delivery.

Registered Reports in Special Education: Introduction to the Special Series

“…Analysis of preregistered administrative data from a California school district" (Kirksey, 2019) • "Save your strokes: Chinese handwriting practice makes for ineffective set of instructional time in second language classrooms" (Lu et al, 2019) • "Experimental evidence on the effects (or lack thereof) of informational framing during the college transition" (Kramer, 2020) • "Smart but evil? Student-teachers' perception of educational researchers' epistemic trustworthiness" (Merk & Rosman, 2019) • "Effect of local norms on racial and ethnic representation in gifted education" (Peters et al, 2019) • "Taking it to the next level: A field experiment to improve instructor-student relationships in college" (Robinson et al, 2019) Four of the studies in the special series used a group experimental design, whereas three studies were secondary data analyses.…”

“…“Experimental evidence on the effects (or lack thereof) of informational framing during the college transition” (Kramer, 2020)…”

Leveraging insights from behavioral science and administrative burden in free college program design: A typology

“…In other public programs, outreach with clear information about tasks or redesigning program forms to highlight salient information has improved outcomes (Linos, Quan, & Kirkman, 2020). Tennessee, for example, leveraged text messages to remind students about upcoming free college deadlines, using behaviorally-informed message variants; however, these variants did not improve outcomes (Kramer, 2020). Another option for reducing compliance costs is to bundle program-specific reporting with other reporting processes-for example, a behavioral intervention in financial aid coupled FAFSA filing with tax preparation and led to increased college enrollment (Bettinger, Long, Oreopoulos, & Sanbonmatsu, 2012).…”

“Like Upgrading From a Typewriter to a Computer”: Registered Reports in Education Research

“…Kramer (2020) presents a large-scale field experiment testing the efficacy of different framings for text messages designed to support the transition from high school graduation to college enrollment and attendance. The study with implemented through partners, and data collection was already underway when the call for this Special Topic was posted.…”