Leciones de Evidencia en Educación

El sector de Educación de J-PAL se centra en cuestiones de acceso, calidad y equidad de la educación, a lo largo de su ciclo. A continuación, nuestras lecciones de la evidencia resumen aprendizajes generales de las evaluaciones aleatorizadas sobre la participación y el aprendizaje de los estudiantes en los países en desarrollo, y las transiciones a la universidad en los Estados Unidos.
Sule Alan (Cornell University and Bilkent University), Karthik Muralidharan (University of California, San Diego), Philip Oreopoulos (University of Toronto) and Abhijeet Singh (Stockholm School of Economics), Education Co-Chairs
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Photo: Putul Gupta | J-PAL
View: Policy insights by sector

The effect of nudges on federal student aid take-up in the United States

Last updated: Agosto 2023
Students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) annually to receive federal loans and grants to attend college in the United States, a requirement often viewed as a barrier to college access. Informative and timely nudges can increase FAFSA filing rates, but providing...

Student Learning

Improving student learning: Impacts by gender

Last updated: Febrero 2022
Most programs to improve student learning have similar impacts on girls and boys. However, policymakers should consider potential different effects by gender while designing programs since, in some cases, program design choices led to different impacts on girls and boys.

Providing information to students and parents to improve learning outcomes

Last updated: Julio 2020
Giving parents and students information about their educational performance or options often increases parental engagement, student effort, or both, leading to improved learning outcomes. Providing information is also typically a low-cost intervention.

Improving learning outcomes through school-based health programs

Last updated: Mayo 2020
Around the world, learning levels remain low and therefore a priority area for improvement. A key barrier to participation and learning in school is student health, especially in low- and middle-income countries. However, due to a lack of coordination between health and education departments, the...

Student Participation Despite dramatic increases in primary school enrollment worldwide, pockets of low enrollment remain, and millions of children who are enrolled are not attending regularly. Strategies that decrease the monetary or non-monetary costs of school, or increase the perceived benefits of school participation, have been found to be particularly effective.

Increasing student enrollment and attendance: impacts by gender

Last updated: Febrero 2019
Reducing the costs and increasing the perceived benefits of education increase student participation for both boys and girls, and successful programs tend to help the gender with the lowest initial attendance most.

Reducing costs to increase school participation

Last updated: Febrero 2019
Programs that reduce the costs of education increase student enrollment and attendance. However, there is considerable variation in the cost effectiveness of different programs.

Increasing enrollment and attendance by making education benefits salient and changing perceptions

Last updated: Abril 2018
Interventions that address perception gaps about the benefits of education or make the benefits more salient can increase student participation at low cost. In contrast, increases in the quality of education can be difficult for parents to accurately perceive and thus do not necessarily lead to...

Additional Insights

Reducing community college dropout through comprehensive supports

Last updated: Mayo 2020
Providing community college students with a wide range of comprehensive supports, such as counseling, tutoring, and financial assistance, can improve low rates of persistence and graduation. These support programs address many simultaneous barriers that students face, which may be a key driver...

Encouraging early childhood stimulation from parents and caregivers to improve child development

Last updated: Abril 2020
Evidence from 11 low- and middle-income countries shows that encouraging caregivers to play and interact with children aged 0–3 in a stimulating way improves children’s cognitive development. These programs can increase the time and resources parents invest in their children’s development. However...

Increasing college access by making the application process easier

Last updated: Febrero 2018
Relatively low-cost programs to simplify the college application process and support students through this transition can increase college enrollment and persistence in the United States and Canada. Personalized assistance, timely reminders, and fee waivers were key components of effective programs.

Charter schools and student learning

Last updated: Mayo 2017
In the United States, the estimated impacts of charter schools have varied widely. In Massachusetts, students who won lotteries for charter schools located in urban areas often did substantially better than students who lost; while students who won lotteries for charter schools in nonurban areas...

Sector Chairs

head shot of sule alan

Co-Líder, Educación

Professor of Economics and Behavioral Science

Cornell University and Bilkent University

Co-Líder, Educación

Tata Chancellor’s Professor of Economics

University of California, San Diego

Co-Líder, Educación

Professor of Economics and Public Policy

University of Toronto

Abhijeet Singh

Co-Líder, Educación

Associate Professor of Economics

Stockholm School of Economics

Sector Contacts

Headshot of Anushka Bansal

Senior Policy Associate, J-PAL Global

Madeline Brancel

Policy Manager, J-PAL Global

Headshot of Nicole (Nicah) Santos

Senior Policy Associate, J-PAL Global

Headshot of Jessica Williams

Senior Policy Associate, J-PAL Global