Text update messages to parents add up to improvement

Text messages add up to improvement


A new study by the Education Endowment Foundation in the UK has found that text messages sent to parents increased math achievement and lowered absenteeism.

The Parent Engagement Project (PEP) was designed to raise achievement by encouraging parents to engage with their children's learning. Parents were sent regular texts about upcoming tests, whether homework had been submitted, and what their children were learning. On average, each parent received 30 texts during the academic year. The cluster randomized controlled trial involved 15,697 students in Years 7, 9, and 11 (sixth, eighth, and tenth grade) from 36 English secondary schools during the 2014/15 school year.

Children who received the intervention showed a small, significant, positive impact (an effect size of +0.033) on their math achievement. There was also a significant reduction in their absenteeism (-0.054), even though none of the texts were about attendance.

Although the effects of the intervention were small, the program is inexpensive and relatively easy for schools to implement. Parents were generally satisfied with the frequency, timing, and content of the texts. A teacher survey and interviews showed that schools were enthusiastic about the program and liked its immediacy and low cost.

Johns Hopkins University 

Research in Brief

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