Supporting Student Engagement During Remote Learning: Three Randomized Controlled Trials in Chicago Public Schools

This paper presents the results of three field experiments testing interventions designed to increase engagement and improve learning during remote schooling. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of remote learning when schooling is interrupted has become more common, prompting educators to ask: How can we better engage students during remote instruction? This is especially salient because much of what we know about student engagement is based on in-person schooling, not virtual instruction. In the first experiment, we find that personalized phone calls increased families’ likelihood of registering for a virtual summer schooling program in Chicago Public Schools, the pre-specified primary outcome. In the second experiment, we find sending weekly text messages had no effect on students’ summer days absent and usage of Khan Academy, the primary outcomes; in analyses of secondary outcomes, we find that the weekly text messages increased students’ likelihood of passing their summer math course. In the third experiment, we find adding an instructional aide to supplement classroom teachers had no effect on the primary outcomes of summer days absent and usage of Khan Academy; in analyses of secondary outcomes, we find beneficial impacts in the following school year on students’ math grades and passing rates.