Expose information directly to students and parents rather than merely making it available¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 review), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The review recommends that education policies deliver relevant information actively to decision-makers instead of only making it accessible, because automatic thinking means people act on what immediately comes to mind. It states that "Policies that expose information, compared to making it easily available, are more likely to be effective in a variety of fields, from consumer retail behavior to health". In education this supports mailed college-information packages and simplified, salient presentation of costs and options.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Information must reach students or parents directly and saliently, since without sufficient exposure, efforts to improve the quantity and quality of available information are ultimately limited

Constraints¶

• The review grounds the strategy partly in evidence from outside education, such as grocery-store tax-inclusive price displays and Medicare plan-choice letters

Target Learners¶

• high school students choosing colleges
• parents of school-age children
• college students choosing courses

Target Learning Goals¶

• college application and enrollment decisions
• informed choice of programs, courses, and financial aid

Affordances¶

• Dual System Four Barriers Education Investment

Claims¶

• Information barriers disadvantage low-income students in the college transition: bright low-income students miss selective colleges, and mailed information packages raise application and enrollment [+W]
• Text-message alerts to parents about incomplete middle-school homework raise student performance [+W]

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Adam M. Lavecchia, Heidi Liu, and Philip Oreopoulos. (2014). Behavioral Economics of Education: Progress and Possibilities. NBER Working Paper No. 20609. http://www.nber.org/papers/w20609