MPC Member Publications

This database contains a listing of population studies publications written by MPC Members. Anyone can add a publication by an MPC student, faculty, or staff member to this database; new citations will be reviewed and approved by MPC administrators.

Full Citation

Title: The Impact of Providing Vision Screening and Free Eyeglasses on Academic Outcomes: Evidence from a Randomized Trial in Title I Elementary Schools in Florida.

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2018

ISSN: 0276-8739

PMID: 29693366

Abstract: More than 20 percent of all school-aged children in the United States have vision problems, and low-income and minority children are disproportionately likely to have unmet vision care needs. Vision screening is common in U.S. schools, but it remains an open question whether screening alone is sufficient to improve student outcomes. We implemented a multi-armed randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the impact of vision screening, and of vision screening accompanied by eye exams and eyeglasses, provided by a non-profit organization to Title I elementary schools in three large central Florida school districts. We find that providing additional/enhanced screening alone is generally insufficient to improve student achievement in math and reading. In contrast, providing screening along with free eye exams and free eyeglasses to students with vision problems improved student achievement as measured by standardized test scores. We find, averaging over all students (including those without vision problems), that this more comprehensive intervention increased the probability of passing the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Tests (FCATs) in reading and math by approximately 2.0 percentage points. We also present evidence that indicates that this impact fades out over time, indicating that follow-up actions after the intervention may be necessary to sustain these estimated achievement gains.

Url: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29693366

Url: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=PMC5959017

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Glewwe, Paul; West, Kristine L; Lee, Jongwook

Periodical (Full): Journal of policy analysis and management : [the journal of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management]

Issue: 2

Volume: 37

Pages: 265-300

Countries:

IPUMS NHGIS NAPP IHIS ATUS Terrapop