Does Matching Student and Teacher Racial/Ethnic Group Improve Math Scores

摘要

We investigated whether students earn higher math test scores when they have a teacher whose racial/ethnic group is the same as their own. Using data from fourth-grade teachers and students in California, we computed individual-level regression equations that controlled for district differences and variations in teacher and student background characteristics. After adjusting for several student and teacher characteristics, only teaching experience showed a statistically significant correlation with student test scores. The other teacher characteristics we measured, including racial/ethnic group, did not tend to be related to student achievement. However, the pattern of coefficients lend some support to the hypothesis that white and other students score higher when they have teachers whose racial/ethnic group is the same as their own. In contrast, Hispanic and black examinees did not earn higher scores when they had teachers whose racial/ethnic group was the same as their own.