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Ever Failed, Try Again, Succeed Better: Results from a Randomized Educational Intervention on Grit

We show that grit, a skill that has been shown to be highly predictive of achievement, is malleable in childhood and can be fostered in the classroom environment. We evaluate a randomized educational intervention implemented in two independent elementary school samples. Outcomes are measured via a novel incentivized real effort task and performance in standardized tests. We find that treated students are more likely to exert effort to accumulate task-specific ability, and hence, more likely to succeed. In a follow up 2.5 years after the intervention, we estimate an effect of about 0.2 standard deviations on a standardized math test.

Keywords
grit; growth mindset; achievement
Education level
Document Object Identifier (DOI)
10.26300/peax-h202

EdWorkingPaper suggested citation:

Alan, Sule, Teodora Boneva, and Seda Ertac. (). Ever Failed, Try Again, Succeed Better: Results from a Randomized Educational Intervention on Grit. (EdWorkingPaper: 19-161). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/peax-h202

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