Can Recognition Improve Results? A First Look at the Massachusetts Student Achievement Award Program

Students from disadvantaged backgrounds are underrepresented among top performers in mathematics and English language arts (ELA) tests, and those who do become top performers are more likely than similarly high-achieving peers to lose ground over time. This study examines the Massachusetts Student Achievement Awards (MSAA) program, which recognized disadvantaged students who had scores judged to be “exceeding expectations” on the Massachusetts state assessment—roughly the top 7% on state standardized tests in mathematics or ELA—with certificates, letters, informational resources, and a modest gift card. Using a difference-in-differences design, we estimate the program's effects on high-achieving, disadvantaged students in Grades 3–7. Recognition increased next-year mathematics test achievement by 0.05–0.07 standard deviations, a result that holds consistently across specifications; effects on ELA achievement are smaller and not consistently significant across model specifications. Within mathematics, effects are larger for girls and for students who were not consistently among the state's top performers. These findings suggest that even among a small population of exceptionally high-performing but under-recognized disadvantaged students, a simple, low-cost, and readily scalable recognition intervention can meaningfully improve short-term academic outcomes—particularly in mathematics.