Randomized Trial of the Effects of Musical Training on Child Development in the Venezuela Orchestra Program (El Sistema)

Inclusion criteria:

• Excess demand in 5 geographic areas: 24 music centers across the 5 states were identified as the experimental sites based on the likelihood of having excess demand by families in the 2012-13 academic year.
• Apply protocol: Experimental sites agreed to accept written applications from guardians between May 7 and July 8, 2012 (without informing guardians of admission decisions until after randomization). Directors consented to participate in the experiment and received training in the experimental protocol. Children were eligible to apply if they would be 6 to 14 years old on September 1, 2012. Sites received applications from 2,603 guardians on behalf of 2,999 children.

Exclusion criteria:

• Music center level: Two sites were excluded because their directors declined to follow the experimental protocol, and six were excluded because of insufficient demand to carry out randomized experiment.
• Child/guardian level: By prior agreement, each site director could award early admission to a small number of applicants (no more than 5% of positions). In eight sites, 85 children (of 74 guardians) were excluded from the study because they entered through these positions allotted to site directors. Children were also lost from study if parental consent and child assent not given.