Perceptions of Racial Gaps, their Causes, and Ways to Reduce Them

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Alesina ◽  
Matteo Ferroni ◽  
Stefanie Stantcheva
Keyword(s):  

PsycCRITIQUES ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (47) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eddie Chiu
Keyword(s):  


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Farrell ◽  
Fiona Greig ◽  
Chris Wheat ◽  
Max Liebeskind ◽  
Peter Ganong ◽  
...  


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312098029
Author(s):  
Yasmiyn Irizarry

Recent scholarship has examined how accelerated math trajectories leading to calculus take shape during middle school. The focus of this study is on advanced math course taking during the critical yet understudied period that follows: the transition to high school. Data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 are used to examine advanced math course taking in ninth grade, including both track persistence among students who took advanced math in middle school and upward mobility among students who took standard math in middle school. Results reveal sizable racial gaps in the likelihood of staying on (and getting on) the accelerated math track, neither of which are fully explained by prior academic performance factors. Interactions with parents and teachers positively predict advanced math course taking. In some cases, interactions with teachers may also reduce inequality in track persistence, whereas interactions with counselors increase such inequality. Implications for research and policy are discussed.



2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felicia Snead ◽  
Alexander N. Slade ◽  
Bridget A. Oppong ◽  
Arnethea L. Sutton ◽  
Vanessa B. Sheppard


Daedalus ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 140 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J. Heckman

In contemporary America, racial gaps in achievement are primarily due to gaps in skills. Skill gaps emerge early, before children enter school. Families are major producers of skills, thus inequality in school performance is strongly linked to inequality in family environments. Schools do little to reduce or enlarge the skill gaps that are present when children enter school. Parenting matters, and the true measure of child advantage and disadvantage is the quality of parenting received. A growing fraction of American children across all race and ethnic groups is being raised in dysfunctional families. Investment in the early lives of children from disadvantaged families will help close achievement gaps. America currently relies too heavily on schools and adolescent remediation strategies to solve problems that start in the preschool years. Policy should prevent rather than remediate. Voluntary, culturally sensitive support for parenting is a politically and economically palatable strategy that addresses problems common to all racial and ethnic groups.



Author(s):  
Jenifer L. Bratter

For nearly 20 years, the U.S. Census has allowed respondents to report multiple races, offering new opportunities to assess the well-being of multiracial groups. Multiple-race reporting provides much-needed nuance for assessing the racial stratification of social outcomes as the distinctions between racial groups is less clear. Here, I explore the promises and the pitfalls of working with multiple-race data in studies of race inequality. I begin with a discussion of prior work using multiple-race data, showing how they inform our understanding of race-based patterns, and also consider issues raised by the conceptual and methodological fuzziness inherent in using multiple-race responses. I then provide a brief picture of current racial differences in adult poverty rates for single- and multiple-race groups, revealing that some multiracial groups experience parity with single-race groups while others occupy a space in between. While these patterns are meaningful, multiple interpretations are possible given the nature of multiple-race data.





AERA Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 233285842091520
Author(s):  
Brian Clark ◽  
Ying Shi

This article shows that the traditional narrative of Black-White high school graduation gaps is inverted among economically disadvantaged female students. Two nationally representative surveys and statewide administrative data demonstrate that low-income White females graduate at rates 5 to 6 percentage points lower than Black peers despite having higher test scores. Greater rates of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use among White females account for one third of the attainment disparity. Since the early onset of substance use among low-income White females predicts lower attainment, more research on the factors leading to risky behaviors and their correlates during early adolescence is warranted. Examining racial gaps in high school graduation at the intersection of gender and income categories can inform more tailored interventions.



2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin F. Butcher ◽  
Patrick J. McEwan ◽  
Akila Weerapana

Average grades in colleges and universities have risen markedly since the 1960s. Critics express concern that grade inflation erodes incentives for students to learn; gives students, employers, and graduate schools poor information on absolute and relative abilities; and reflects the quid pro quo of grades for better student evaluations of professors. This paper evaluates an anti-grade-inflation policy that capped most course averages at a B+. The cap was biding for high-grading departments (in the humanities and social sciences) and was not binding for low-grading departments (in economics and sciences), facilitating a difference-in-differences analysis. Professors complied with the policy by reducing compression at the top of the grade distribution. It had little effect on receipt of top honors, but affected receipt of magna cum laude. In departments affected by the cap, the policy expanded racial gaps in grades, reduced enrollments and majors, and lowered student ratings of professors.



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