The Little Nudge That Makes A Big Difference To Student Grades

(Photo: PATRICK HERTZOG/AFP/Getty Images)

In the search for ways to improve student outcomes, it is usually the big initiatives that attract all the attention: maximum class sizes, literacy hour, common core, Shanghai maths and the like.

But a new study shows that a little nudge can make a big difference to student grades, at a fraction of the cost of more ambitious schemes.

The study team worked on the basis that friends and family can be a powerful resource in helping students achieve.

And their research found that students who received a supportive text message while they were revising for exams were more likely to pass English and maths tests than peers.

The scheme was developed by the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), attached to the U.K.’s Cabinet Office. The team, known as the ‘nudge unit’, was inspired by the work of U.S. economist Richard Thaler, whose work in behavioral economics saw him awarded the Nobel Prize for economics last week.

The BIT team’s study looked at 1,800 students in nine colleges in England who had failed English and maths exams at 16.

Although students have to pass the exams to continue in education, the pass rate for resits is notoriously low - around one in four - and many end up dropping out altogether, dispirited by the prospect of continued failure.

Half of the 1,800 students were invited to nominate a ‘study supporter’, a friend or family member, who would receive regular text messages , written with the help of the student’s English and maths teachers.

These supporters were then encouraged to send texts to the students, perhaps talking about a topic they had recently covered or encouraging them to revise for an upcoming test.

And the results were dramatic. The study found that the students who had been texted by study supporters were 27% more likely to pass their exams next time round. Their attendance also increased, by 7%.

‘Family and friends can be a powerful - and often untapped - resource to shape students’ educational experiences, especially when individuals have grown up without supportive learning environments,’ said Zhi Soon, Raj Chande and Susannah Hume, who carried out the study.

‘Some young people simply don’t have access to someone who asks them about their learning. Family or friends may not feel confident about their own skills, or know what the student is up to in class. We wanted to change that.’

The study shows that boosting student grades does not have to involve an expansive project, or cost a lot of money. Sending the text messages cost only £10 ($13) per student.

While we all know the importance of feeling encouraged and supported at work, we have perhaps been slow to recognize that this is also true at school.

‘Having a study supporter doesn’t make someone more intelligent, but it does motivate them to engage more in their studies,’ Soon, the director of education at BIT, told The Times.

‘With all the other stuff going on in their lives, it means they know someone cares about this particular exam and gives them a reason to work for it.’

The potential for this approach across education is considerable. A previous study by the team found that 16 and 17-year-olds who received supportive letters from students already in higher education were 34% more likely to apply to selective universities than those who did not get the letters.

And what was particularly notable was that the letters were most effective at lower performing schools, while making little difference for students at higher performing schools, suggesting that the support of family and friends is a major factor in determining how well students - and schools - perform.

Perhaps in our search for the big idea that will transform education, we have forgotten that sometimes it is the little things that count.

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