Relative Performance Feedback in Education: Evidence from a Randomised Controlled Trial*
通过一项为期一学年的随机对照试验，研究发现向大学生提供实时相对排名反馈能显著提升课程成绩，并促进同伴学习。
Abstract In a one-year randomised controlled trial involving thousands of university students, we provide real-time private feedback on relative performance in a semester-long online assignment. Within this set-up, our experimental design cleanly identifies the behavioural response to rank incentives (i.e., incentives stemming from an inherent preference for high rank). We find that rank incentives boost performance in the related course assignment, but also the average course exams grade by 0.21 SDs. These beneficial effects remain sizeable across all quantiles and extend beyond the intervention period. Furthermore, rank feedback stimulates social learning, i.e., rank incentives make students engage more in peer interactions.