NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
ERIC Number: ED671185
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Jun
Pages: 58
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
First Impressions: The Case of Teacher Racial Bias. EdWorkingPaper No. 20-228
Marcos A. Rangel; Ying Shi
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
We study racial bias and the persistence of first impressions in the context of education. Teachers who begin their careers in classrooms with large black-white score gaps carry negative views into evaluations of future cohorts of black students. Our evidence is based on novel data on blind evaluations and non-blind public school teacher assessments of fourth and fifth graders in North Carolina. Negative first impressions lead teachers to be significantly less likely to over-rate but not more likely to under-rate black students' math and reading skills relative to their white classmates. Teachers' perceptions are sensitive to the lowest-performing black students in early classrooms, but non-responsive to highest-performing ones. This is consistent with the operation of confirmatory biases. Since teacher expectations can shape grading patterns and sorting into academic tracks as well as students' own beliefs and behaviors, these findings suggest that novice teacher initial experiences may contribute to the persistence of racial gaps in educational achievement and attainment. [The title on the cover page (Teacher Biases: Evidence from Early-Career Experiences) is incorrect. The correct title of the report is "First Impressions: The Case of Teacher Racial Bias."]
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: annenberg@brown.edu; Web site: https://annenberg.brown.edu/
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 4; Intermediate Grades; Grade 5; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A