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Estimating, Bounding, and Decomposing the Effects of a Parent-Directed School Readiness Program

Author

Listed:
  • Flávio Cunha
  • Qinyou Hu
  • Andrea Salvati
  • Kenneth I. Wolpin
  • Rui Zeng

Abstract

We evaluate JumpStart, a parent-directed school-readiness program run by a Houston-area school district, in a randomized trial spanning three cohorts. Being offered the program raises scores on a curriculum-aligned assessment by 7.6 percentage points and parental investment by 0.26 standard deviations. A model of skill formation with endogenous inputs and program participation yields an average treatment effect of completing the program of about 9 percentage points, and attributes roughly a quarter of this effect to higher measured investment. Nonparametric bounds corroborate the average effect, and a mediation analysis that relaxes part of the model's structure supports the decomposition.

Suggested Citation

  • Flávio Cunha & Qinyou Hu & Andrea Salvati & Kenneth I. Wolpin & Rui Zeng, 2026. "Estimating, Bounding, and Decomposing the Effects of a Parent-Directed School Readiness Program," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 26291, ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin).
    • Handle: RePEc:crm:wpaper:26291
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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