Teacher-Student Racial Congruence, Teacher Perceptions, and Test Performance

Author: Oates G.L.S.C.

Source: Social Science Quarterly, Volume 84, Number 3, September 2003 , pp. 508-525(18)

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Abstract:

Objective.

This research explores the seldom-addressed question of whether teacher-student racial congruence conditions the impact of teacher perceptions on performance. Methods.

Multipopulation LISREL models (utilizing data from the NELS) compare the effect of white teachers' perceptions on African-American standardized test performance to the corresponding effect among white students. Parallel models compare the impact of African-American teacher perceptions across races. Preliminary models gauge whether the match/mismatch of teacher's and student's race shapes teacher perceptions of African-American and white students. Results.

The impact of teachers' perceptions on test performance shows signs of being especially pronounced in the racially dissonant white teacher-black student context—the very context where teacher perceptions seem especially likely to be unfavorable. Conclusions.

This research provides new insight on the relevance of teacher perceptions to the black-white performance gap. Racial congruence seems primarily consequential to African-American test performance—shaping both teacher perceptions and (somewhat less so) the impact of such perceptions on performance.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1540-6237.8403002

Publication date: 2003-09-01