Exploring Bias in Math Teachers' Perceptions of Students' Ability by Gender and Race - Ethnicity

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ExploringBiasinMathTeachersPerceptionsofStudentsAbilitybyGenderandRace/Ethnicity
GendSoc.AuthormanuscriptavailableinPMC2013Oct30.
Publishedinfinaleditedformas:
PMCID:PMC3812955
NIHMSID:NIHMS462823
GendSoc.2012Apr126(2):10.1177/0891243211434614.
Publishedonline2012Mar2.doi:10.1177/0891243211434614
ExploringBiasinMathTeachersPerceptionsofStudentsAbilitybyGender
andRace/Ethnicity
CatherineRiegleCrumbandMelissaHumphries
UniversityofTexasatAustin
CopyrightnoticeandDisclaimer
Thepublisher'sfinaleditedversionofthisarticleisavailableatGendSoc
SeeotherarticlesinPMCthatcitethepublishedarticle.
Abstract
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Thisstudyexploreswhethergenderstereotypesaboutmathabilityshapehighschoolteachersassessmentsofthe
studentswithwhomtheyinteractdaily,resultinginthepresenceofconditionalbias.Itbuildsontheoriesof
intersectionalitybyexploringteachersperceptionsofstudentsindifferentgenderandracial/ethnicsubgroups,and
advancestheliteratureonthesalienceofgenderacrosscontextsbyconsideringvariationacrosslevelsofmath
coursetakingintheacademichierarchy.UtilizingnationallyrepresentativedatafromtheEducationLongitudinal
Studyof2002(ELS),analysesrevealthatdisparitiesinteachersperceptionsofabilitythatfavoredwhitemales
overminoritystudentsofbothgendersareexplainedawaybystudentachievementintheformoftestscoresand
grades.However,wefindevidenceofaconsistentbiasagainstwhitefemaleswhich,althoughrelativelysmallin
magnitude,suggeststhatteachersholdthebeliefthatmathiseasierforwhitemalesthanitisforwhitefemales.We
alsofindsomeevidenceofvariationacrosscourselevelcontextswithregardtobias.Weconcludebydiscussingthe
implicationsofourfindingsforresearchontheconstructionofgenderinequality.
INTRODUCTION
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Despitetheprogressofmanysocialmovements,reforms,andpolicyinitiativesoverthelastseveraldecadesaimed
atissuesofequity,stereotypesregardinggenderdifferencescontinuetoprevail.Oneofthemostdominantrefersto
thepresumedmalesuperiorityinmathability.Researchersinthefieldsofsociology,psychology,andeducation
haveallfoundevidenceofthepersistenceofstereotypesthat,comparedtomales,femalespossessinferiorabilityin
thefieldofmath,akeygatekeepertoeliteoccupationsinscienceandtechnologyrelatedsectors(Correll2001
Fox,Sonnert,andNikiforova2011Spencer,Steele,andQuinn1999).Suchstereotypesreflectstronglyheld
culturalbeliefsthatmenandwomenareinnatelyandfundamentallydifferentinskillsandinterests,andtheylikely
persistbecausetheideathatmenandwomenaredifferentinthisregardisconsiderednaturalandnotdiscriminatory
(CharlesandBradley2002England2010).Theconsequencesoftheinternalizationofsuchstereotypesbyyoung
femalesarewelldocumented,includinginhibitingtheirperformancesonmathtestsanddampeningtheirrelated
senseofselfworthandfeelingsofcompetency(Aronsonetal.1999Correll2001Eccles1994Steeleand
Aronson1995).
Thisstudybuildsonpriorworktoexaminehowgenderstereotypesmaypermeatecontemporaryhighschool
classrooms.Situatedwithinatheoreticalframeworkthatviewsgenderasasocialstructure,itcontributestothe
emergingliteratureonbiasattheinteractionallevel,wheregenderdifferencesarecontinuallyconstructedand
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3812955/
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reconstructed(Deutsch2007Risman2004).Specifically,weexaminewhetherstereotypesoffemalesinferior
mathabilitymightshapeteachersassessmentsofthestudentswithwhomtheyinteractdaily,resultinginthe
presenceofconditionalbias,ordisparateperceptionsofabilitythatremainafteraccountingforobservablemeasures
ofacademicperformance(Ferguson2003).
OurstudyaddressesthelackofnationallevelresearchonteacherbiasbyutilizingdatafromtheEducation
LongitudinalStudyof2002(ELS),asurveyofanationallyrepresentativecohortofhighschoolstudents.Further,it
advancestheliteratureongenderstereotypesbydrawingontheoriesofintersectionalitythatarticulatehowgender
andrace/ethnicityareconcurrentandintertwineddomainsofinequality(Andersen2005BrowneandMisra2003
Risman2004).Specifically,wenotethatracial/ethnicminoritystudentsaswellasfemalestudentsarelikelyto
encounternegativestatusexpectationsinmathclassroomsasstereotypesofmenssuperiormathskillsdonotin
generalrefertoallmales,butrathertothepresumedadvantageinherenttowhitemalesinparticular.Wetherefore
viewwhitemalesastherelevantgroupofcomparisonandexplorehowevidenceofbiasinteachersperceptionsof
studentsabilitymaybegreaterforsomegroups(e.g.,Blackfemales)thanforothers.
Additionally,thisstudyfurthersourknowledgeofbiasbydrawingoninteractionaltheoriesofgenderthatarguefor
anexplorationoftheconditionsorenvironmentsinwhichgendermightbelessrelevantorsalient(Deutsch2007
RidgewayandCorrell2004).Ratherthanassumeconstancyinthebiasedassessmentsteachersform,weconsider
howthestratifiedsystemofmathcoursetakinginhighschoolmightcreatedifferentcontextswithimplicationsfor
theactivationofstereotypes.Weutilizecoursetakinginformationavailablefromthehighschooltranscript
componentofELStoexaminethepresenceofteacherbiasinlow,average,andadvancedlevelmathcourses.In
sum,thisstudywillcontributenewknowledgeabouttheexistenceofgenderbiasincontemporarysettings,sothat
bybetterunderstandingitsoccurrence,wecanworkmoreeffectivelytocombatit.
BACKGROUND
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GenderedInteractionsandBiasinMathClassrooms
Theframeworkofthisstudyisrootedintheoriesofgenderasasocialstructurethatisconstructedandmaintained
acrossdifferentlevelsordimensions.Specifically,recentworkbyRisman(2004)articulateshowgenderoperatesat
threedifferentlevels:thelevelofindividuals(whointernalizegendersocializationprocesses),theinteractional
level,wheremenandwomenconfrontdifferentculturalexpectations,andthemoremacrolevelofsocial
institutions.Shecallsformoreresearchthatshedslightonhowculturalexpectationsshapeinteractions,positing
thatinequalityincontemporarytimesisdrivenlargelythroughtheconstructionandreconstructionofgenderthat
occurinexchangesbetweenindividualsindailylife.Othershavealsoarguedfortheimportanceofconsidering
howgenderdifferencesarecreatedandmaintainedininteractions(Deutsch2007RidgewayandCorrell2004),
particularlywithregardtohowstatusexpectationsfavoringmalesleadtocognitivebias.AccordingtoCorrell,
Benard,andPaik,Theperformanceoflowstatusactors,evenwhenobjectivelyequaltothatoftheirhighstatus
counterparts,arelesslikelytobejudgedasdemonstratingtaskabilityorcompetence(2007,1302).Because
culturalnormsandstereotypesdictatealowersocialstatusforwomen,theyareoftensubjecttoharsherjudgments
orexpectationsthanmenininteractionswheregenderisbelievedtoberelevant.
Previousliteratureongendersocializationhasexploredhowyoungfemalesinternalizestereotypesaboutmathwith
subsequentconsequencesfortheirownbehavior,whilestudiesofstereotypethreathavedocumentedhowthe
primingofgenderstereotypesincontrolledenvironmentsorlaboratorysettingsnegativelyimpactsfemales
academicperformance(Aronsonetal.1999Correll2001Eccles1994Spencer,Steele,andQuinn1999Steele
andAronson1995).Incontrast,thereiscomparativelylessresearchconsideringhowmathstereotypesleadtothe
occurrenceofgenderbiasininteractionsbetweenindividualsinreallifesituations.Thisstudyfocusesonthis
importantdimensionofinequalitybyexaminingwhethermathteachers,askeygatekeeperswhointeractdailywith
youngpeopleregardingtheirmathperformance,formbiasedassessmentsoftheirmaleandfemalestudents.We
buildonasmallbodyofresearchthatsuggeststhatculturalexpectationsoffemalesinferiormathabilityshape
teachersevaluationsofthestudentsintheirclassrooms.
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Forexample,intheirstudyof38firstgradeteachers,Fennemaetal.(1990)concludedthatteacherstendedto
overratemalestudentsmathcapabilityandcorrespondinglyunderratefemalestudentsmathcapability.Usinga
sampleof6thgradestudentsinMichigan,JussimandEccles(1992)foundasmallbutconsistentpatternof
conditionalbiassuchthatteachersratedtheirmalestudentshigherinmathtalentdespitethefactthattherewereno
genderdisparitiesonstandardizedtestscoresorgrades.AmorerecentCaliforniastudyalsofoundthatthe
discrepancybetweenelementaryschoolteachersratingsofstudentsmathabilityandtheirscoresonachievement
testswasgreaterforgirlsthanforboys(McKownandWeinstein2002).
Whileinformative,thesestudiesarelimitedinscopetoafewclassroomsorschoolsattheelementarylevel,raising
thequestionofwhetherresultsarerepresentativeofalargertrend,particularlyamongmorerecentcohorts.Prior
researchonthistopichasalsoleftvirtuallyuntouchedthequestionofbiasatthehighschoollevel,whichisakey
stageineducationaltrajectorieswherestudentsmakedecisionsaboutfuturefieldsofstudyandcareers.Ourstudy
willaddresstheseshortagesbyexaminingevidenceofteacherbiasintheassessmentsofarecentnationalcohortof
highschoolstudents.Itwillalsomakeakeycontributiontopreviousliteraturebyconsideringhowtheoriesof
intersectionalityandthevariabilityofgendersalienceacrossdifferentcontextsrelatetotheformationofbias.
ExploringtheIntersectionofGenderandRace/Ethnicity
Muchpriorresearchongenderinequalityfocusesonstratificationbetweenmalesandfemaleswhileholding
race/ethnicityconstant(BrowneandMisra2003).Researchonbiasinteacherassessmentsisnoexceptioninthis
regardpreviousstudiestendtofocusongenderstereotypes,asdescribedearlier,oronracial/ethnicstereotypesand
biasintheclassroom.Butdoingsoassumeshomogeneitywithineachgendergroup,andthereforeignoresthe
possibilityofdistinctiveexperiencesandobstaclesformalesandfemalesfromdifferentracial/ethnicbackgrounds
(Andersen2005).Thus,feministtheoristshavestronglyarticulatedtheneedforresearchoninequalityineducation
aswellasotherdomainstorecognizetheintersectionofgenderandrace/ethnicityassimultaneouslylivedand
intersectingstatuscharacteristics(AndersenandCollins1995BrowneandMisra2003Risman2004).
Theoriesofintersectionalityarehighlyrelevantwhenconsideringbiasinmathclassrooms,asstereotypesofmens
innatelyhighermathabilityreferspecificallytowhitemales.Thusbothgenderandrace/ethnicityarelikelytobe
salientidentitiesinmathclassroomswithimplicationsforteachersevaluations.Whilefemalesencountergender
stereotypesdeclaringthesubjectofmathasinherentlylessfeminine,BlackandHispanicindividualsmustoften
contendwithnegativestereotypesabouttheirintellectualabilitiesmoregenerally(Aronsonetal.1999McKown
andWeinstein2002Steele1997).Forexample,McKownandWeinsteins(2002)studyofelementaryschool
teachersfoundsomeevidenceofBlacksbeingunderestimatedcomparedtowhites,asteacherratingsofBlack
studentswerelowerthantheirachievementtestscoreswouldpredict.Inhisextensivereviewoftheliterature,
Ferguson(2003)surmisedthatthereislittleevidencethatteachersengageinconditionalbias,i.e.,holddifferent
perceptionsofminoritycomparedtomajoritystudentsoncetestscoresorotherobservedmeasuresofperformance
aretakenintoaccount.Henoted,however,thatresearchonthistopicisquiteincomplete.
Aprimarycontributionofthisarticleisitsexaminationoftheintersectionofgenderandrace/ethnicityasitpertains
toteachersbiasinperceptionsoftheirstudentsmathability.Weconsiderwhitemalesastherelevantcomparison
groupformeasuringthepresenceofbias.Inamathclassroom,teachersmayexpectthatminorityyouthhavelow
relativechancesforsuccessandmasteryofthisdemandingandacademicallyrigoroussubject(LadsonBillings
2009Ong2005SeymourandHewitt1997).Themultiplejeopardyhypothesisespousedbysometheoriesof
intersectionalitywouldsubsequentlyanticipatethatminorityfemaleswouldbethesubjectofthestrongestteacher
bias,asinteractionsbetweenteachersandstudentsintheclassroomwouldbeshapedbystatusexpectations
pertainingtobothgenderandrace/ethnicity(Tang1997).Yetothersarguethatgenderandrace/ethnicitymaynot
alwaysintersectinthismanner,andinsteadsuggestthatresearchshouldfirstexamineevidenceofhowthe
experiencesofmembersofdifferentgroupsdivergeratherthanassumethataparticularpatternappliesacrossall
domains(BrowneandMisra2003).Ourperspectiveismoreconsistentwiththislatterapproach,asweworkto
provideempiricalevidenceofinequalityintheformofbiasedteacherassessmentsthatcaninformfuturetheory
building.
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ExploringBiasAcrossContexts
Althoughthecontinuedprevalenceofgenderstereotypesaboutmathiswellestablished,itdoesnotnecessarily
followthatstereotypesareconstantlyinvokedorappliedinallmathclassrooms.RecentworkbyDeutsch(2007)
hascalledattentiontotheneedforresearchthatexploreswhensocialinteractionsarelessgendered,orwhen
gendermightinfactbeirrelevant.Fromthisperspective,sincegenderisasocialconstructthatiscreatedand
recreatedthroughinteractions,itmayalsoberesistedorsubverted.Findinglocationswheregenderappearstobe
undonecanincreaseourunderstandingofinequalityandthushowtoameliorateit(Deutsch2007Eisenhart
andFinkel1998Risman2009).
Whenconsideringwhetherbiasedassessmentsoccurintheinteractionbetweenteachersandtheirstudents,we
thereforeconsiderthevaryingcontextsofhighschoolclassrooms.Mathcoursetakinginhighschoolisahighly
stratifiedsystemcreatedthroughalongstructureoftestingandprerequisitesextendingbacktomiddleand
elementaryschool(Stevenson,Schiller,andSchneider1994).Studentstakingthemostadvancedclassesenjoyan
elitepositionwithinthishierarchy,whileothersoccupypartsofthedistributionwithlessstatus.Among
contemporarycohorts,therearevirtuallynogenderdifferencesinhighschoolmathcoursetaking,whileminority
youth,particularlymales,remainlesslikelythanmajoritypeerstobeinadvancedlevelcourses(Berends,Lucas,
andPealoza2008Hydeetal.2008).Wecurrentlyknownothingaboutthesalienceofstereotypesinclassroom
interactionsinthedifferentcourselevelsthatstudentsoccupy,butthisisanissueworthyofbeingexplored.For
example,teacherbiasmaybestrongestinthehighestlevelcourses,whereperformanceexpectationsarethehighest
andbeliefsaboutwhoismostlikelytobegiftedbecomerelevant(Oakes1985Staiger2004).Alternatively,in
averagelevelcoursestheremaybemoreambiguityregardingstudentsskillsinsuchinstancesstereotypescould
becomemoresalientinshapingteacherexpectations(Correll,Benard,andPaik2007).Ifwecanpinpointthose
instancesinwhichbiasdoesnotexistorappearslesspronounced,wecanbetterunderstandthecomplexityand
potentialfluidityoftheconstructionofgenderdifferences.
SomeAdditionalConsiderationsforMeasuringBias
Asprefacedearlier,inthisstudywefocusonthepresenceofconditionalbias.Fromthisperspective,evidenceof
teacherbiasisfoundinthedifferencebetweentheteachersperceptionorexpectationandwhateverbenchmark
theyusetoevaluatestudents,suchastestscore(Ferguson2003,466).Thereforeteachersarenotnecessarily
biasediftheirperceptionsorexpectationsarebasedonsociallylegitimated,observablepredictorsofperformance,
suchasgradesandtestscores.Relyingonconditionalratherthanunconditionalmeasuresofbiasisparticularly
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relevantwhenconsideringrace/ethnicity. Giventhat,forexample,Blackstudentsonaveragehavemuchlower
mathtestscoresthanwhitestudents(Berends,Lucas,andPealoza2008),teachersevaluationsofabilitythatare
consistentwiththisgapdonotnecessarilyindicatebiasontheirpart.
Wenotethatafocusonconditionalbiasinthismannerlikelyunderestimatestheprevalenceofharmfulstereotypes
intheinteractionsbetweenteachersandstudents.First,gradesandtestscoresarethemselvesimperfectmeasuresof
ability.Educationresearchhighlightshowquestionsandassignmentsmaybebiasedintheirdesign,while
psychologicalresearchindicatesthatstereotypethreatmaydecreasefemalesandminoritystudentstest
performance(Grodsky,Warren,andFelts2008Steele1997).Furthermore,biasisnotlimitedtoanyparticularyear
orstageofeducation,butispartofanongoingandcumulativeprocess.Ifstudentsareexposedtobiasin
elementaryandmiddleschool,theirgradesandtestscoresmayconsequentlysuffer(Alexander,Entwisle,and
Thompson1987).Therefore,conditionalbiasoccurringaslateashighschoollikelyrepresentsonlyafractionof
thebiastowhichstudentshavebeenexposed,particularlyinthecaseofminoritystudentswhosecomparatively
lowhighschoolachievementistheculminationofmanyyearsofeducationaldisadvantages(Phillips,Crouse,and
Ralph1998).Yetifsuchbiasisindeedpresent,itspeakstothepowerofstatusexpectationstocontinually
reconstructinequalityintheclassroom.
Finally,wenotethattheconditionalbiaswemeasureheremayverywellbeimplicit.Unlikeexplicitbias,which
referstothoseattitudesofwhichpeopleareactivelyandconsciouslyaware,implicitbiasreferstounintentional
behaviororanorientationthatpeoplemaynotconsciouslyendorse,orattheveryleastnotwanttorevealto
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themselvesorothers(vandenBerghetal.2010).Recentresearchsuggeststhatamongcontemporarycohorts,
implicitstereotypesaboutgenderdifferencesinmathabilityarefarmorecommonthanexplicitones(Nosek,
Banaji,andGreenwald2002Schmader,Johns,andBarquissau2004).Sheddinglightontheexistenceofimplicit
biasincontemporaryhighschoolclassroomsisanimportantsteptowardsdisruptingtheconstructionofinequality.
Insum,thisstudycontributesnewknowledgetoresearchongenderinequalitybyutilizinganationally
representativedatasettoexaminewhetherteachersevaluationsofthehighschoolstudentsintheirclassrooms
reflectgenderedstereotypesaboutmathability.Weaddtotheliteratureonintersectionalitybyexploringteachers
biasedperceptionsofstudentsindifferentgenderandracial/ethnicsubgroups,andadvancetheliteratureonthe
salienceofgenderacrossdifferentcontextsbyconsideringvariationacrosslevelsofmathcoursetakinginthe
academichierarchy.
DATAANDMETHODS
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OurstudyusesdatafromtheEducationalLongitudinalStudyof2002(ELS:2002),whichwasdesignedbythe
NationalCenterofEducationStatistics(NCES)tofollowanationallyrepresentativecohortofapproximately
15,000studentsbeginningintheirsophomoreyearofhighschool,andcontinuingthroughthetransitioninto
postsecondaryeducationandeventuallythelaborforce.ELSusedamultistagesamplingdesignwhereschools
wereselectedfirst,andsubsequently10thgradestudentswererandomlyselectedfromwithineachschool.Follow
upstudentsurveyswereadministeredin2004and2006.ELSalsoincludedparentandteachersurveysinthebase
yearandcollectedstudentshighschooltranscripts.OuranalysisincludesBlack,Hispanicandwhite(non
Hispanic)studentswhose10thgrademathteacherscompletedasurvey.Thesampleisalsorestrictedtothose
studentsincludedintheELSFirstFollowUpTranscriptstudy,asthisprovidedtheinformationforbothstudents
coursetakingandgrades.
DependentVariable
StudentsmathteacherswereaskedtooffertheirpersonalassessmentoftheELSstudentsthatwereintheir
classrooms,indicatingwhethertheyfeltthatthecoursewastooeasyforthestudent,theappropriatelevel,ortoo
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difficult. Thiscategoricalindicatorservesasourdependentvariable.Ingeneral,teachersfeltthatstudentswerein
theclassthatwasattheappropriatelevel(82percent),whileamuchsmallerpercentagefeltthattheclasswastoo
easy(7percent)ortoodifficult(11percent).Althoughnotfrequent,itistheseperceivedmisalignmentsthatwe
seektoexplore.Weacknowledgethatthisisarelativelycrudemeasureofbias,aratherbluntinstrumenttryingto
capturesomethingascomplexandelusiveasbias.Yettotheextentthatwefindanyevidencethat,onanational
scale,femaleand/orminoritystudentsarelesslikelythantheirwhitemalepeerstobejudgedasbeinginaclassthat
istooeasy,oralternativelymorelikelytobejudgedasbeinginaclassthatistoodifficult,thisisanewand
importantcontributiontopriorresearch.Further,thismeasureiswellsuitedtocapturetwoslightlydifferent
dimensionsofteacherspotentialbias,thefirstofwhichmayoverestimatewhitemalesability(suchthatteachers
aremorelikelytothinkthattheclassistooeasyforthembutnotforothers),whilethesecondrelatesmoretothe
underestimationofothergroups(i.e.,theclassisnottoodifficultforwhitemalesbutismorelikelytoodifficultfor
femalesand/orminoritystudents).Ouranalysesmakeitpossibletotestwhetheroneorbothdimensionsarepresent.
ConsideringCourseTaking
Mathisahierarchicallyorderedsubjectwherestudentsmustpassthroughaseriesofprerequisitestoreach
advancedlevelcourses(RiegleCrumb2006Stevenson,Schiller,andSchneider1994).UsingClassificationof
SecondarySchoolCourse(CSSC)codesfromhighschooltranscripts,wewereabletoidentifythespecificmath
coursetakenbystudentsintheir10thgradeyearandsubsequentlydividestudentsintothreegroups:students
currentlytakingGeometry(themodaloraveragecategoryincluding47.4percentofoursample),studentstakinga
coursebelowGeometry(thelowgroupincludingabout30percentofoursample),andstudentstakingacourse
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aboveGeometry(theadvancedgroupincludingabout22percentofthesample). Weperformedseparateanalyses
forstudentsineachofthesethreegroups.Indoingso,wecantakeintoaccountthevaryingcourselevelsthat
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providethecomparativecontextinwhichstudentsareassessed,andexplore,forexample,whetherteacherbias
towardsfemalesand/orminoritystudentsismoreprevalentinthesocialcontextofadvancedmathclassrooms.
GradesandTestScores
Toconditiononstudentsacademicperformanceinmath,weincludemeasuresofstudentsmathGPAin10th
grade,aswellastheirscoreonastandardizedmathtestadministeredbyELSinthespringofthesameyear.The
latterareIRT(ItemResponseTheory)scoresforstudentsbasedontheestimationofthenumberofitemsthe
studentwouldhaveansweredcorrectlyhadshe/hetakenthecompletemathematicstest(Ingelsetal.2007).
Althoughteachersarenotprivytostudentsscoresonsuchtests,researchnotesahighcorrelationofsuchscores
withothertestssuchastheACT,preSAT,andSAT,andstateaccountabilityexams(Dougherty,Mellor,andSmith
2006).Therefore,itseemslikelythatteachersaregenerallyawareofstudentsperformanceonstandardizedexams.
Gradesaretakenfromstudentshighschooltranscripts,withmathcoursesidentifiedbytheCSSCcodesdescribed
earlier.WenotethatourGPAindicatoristhecumulativegradethatthestudentreceivedthatyearasassignedbythe
teacherwhoisalsoratingthestudentonourmeasureofpotentialbias,asdescribed.Ourexaminationofconditional
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biasisthereforelikelytobeaquiteconservativeoneasgradesthemselvesmaycontainanelementofbias.
OtherIndependentVariables
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Basedonquestionsfromthestudentsurveys,weincludemeasuresforselfreportedrace/ethnicityandgender. We
createseparateindicatorsforeachsubgroup(whitefemales,Blackfemales,Blackmales,Hispanicfemales,and
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Hispanicmales)withthereferencecategoryaswhitemale. Consistentwithdemographictrends,whitestudents
makeupthemajorityofhighschoolstudentsin2002,withapproximately16percentofstudentsselfreportingas
Blackandanadditional16percentselfreportingasHispanic.
Wealsoincludeanarrayofmeasurestocapturethestudentsfamilyandschoolbackground,describedbrieflyhere
butfullydocumentedintheAppendix.Parenteducationismeasuredbyaseriesofdummyvariablescapturingthe
highestlevelofeducationattainedbyeitherofthestudentsparents.Familyincomeisalsoincludedasanordinal
measure.Asdifferingcontextsoftheschoolsthatstudentsattendarerelevanttoconsider(WilkinsonandPearson
2009),weincludemeasuresforschoolsector(privateandCatholicvs.public),urbanicity(indicatorsforurbanand
ruralwithsuburbanasthecontrastcategory),andregion(indicatorsforSouth,West,andMidwestwithNortheast
asthereferencegroup).Weconsiderpercentminorityintheschoolwithaseriesofdummyvariablesdividingthe
percentageintothirds(033percent,3466percent,andabove66percent).Schoolswiththelowestpercent
minority(033percent)serveasthereferencecategory.
Lastly,weincludecharacteristicsoftheteachersthemselves,includingtheirgender,aswellasyearsteachingand
whetherornottheteacherwasamathmajor.Studentswereonaveragetaughtbyteacherswithalmostfifteenyears
ofexperience.Whilealittlemorethanhalfofstudents(55percent)weretaughtmathbyafemaleinstructor,the
genderdistributionofhighschoolmathteachersappearstobeclosetoparity.Almost60percentofstudentswere
taughtmathbyateacherwhohadmajoredinthesubjectincollege.Finally,wenotethatbecausethe
overwhelmingmajority(over90percent)ofmathteachersinthesamplewerewhite,wedonotincludeteachers
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race/ethnicityintheanalyses.
RESULTS
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Beforeexaminingwhetherteachersviewtheacademicabilityoftheirfemaleand/orminoritystudentsless
favorablythanwhitemalestudentsoncedifferencesinacademicperformancearetakenintoaccount,wefirstturn
toadiscussionoftheextentofsuchdifferences.First,wenotethat,consistentwiththewealthofliteratureon
racial/ethnicdisparitiesineducation,minoritystudentsinoursampleareoverrepresentedinlowmathcoursesand
subsequentlyunderrepresentedinadvancedmathcourses(seeTable1).Forexample,whileabout30percentof
whitemalesareinlowmathcourses,approximately45percentofminoritymalesareinthesamegroup.Incontrast,
whitefemaleshaveaslightlyhigherrepresentationthanwhitemalesintheaverageandadvancedcategories,a
patternthatisalsoconsistentwithrecentresearch(Hydeetal.2008).Additionally,wenotetheclearstratificationin
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academicperformanceacrosslevelsofcoursetaking,withtestscoredifferencesofapproximatelyonestandard
deviationbetweenadjacentgroups.
Table1
MeansandProportionsbyLevelofCoursetakingforHighSchool
Sophomores
Tofurtherexploreinequalitywithineachmathcoursetakinglevel,inTable2wedisplaycalculatedeffectsizes
(standardizeddifferencesinmeansbetweengroups)tomeasuretheextentofdifferencesbetweenwhitemalesand
allothergroupsformathtestscoresandGPA.Beginningwithwhitefemales,wenotethattherelativelysmall
whitemaleadvantageinmathtestscoresisvirtuallymirroredbythecorrespondingwhitefemaleadvantageinmath
grades(asindicatedbyanegativesign)acrossallthreelevelsofcoursetakinghowever,thescopeofboth
disparitiesdoesincreaseslightlyascourselevelincreases.Allothersubgroupsclearlytrailbehindtheaveragemath
performanceofwhitemalesontestscoresandgrades.DifferencesinGPAappearsmallerinscopethanthosefor
testscores,yetthemagnitudeofdifferencesalsoincreasesinaccordancewiththelevelofthecourse.Forexample,
amongstudentsinlowlevelmathcourses,Blackmalestestscoreaverageisslightlymorethanhalfofastandard
deviationbelowthatofwhitemales,whilethetestscoregapbetweenthetwogroupsincreasestoalmost1.5
standarddeviationsforthestudentsintheadvancedcourselevel.Therefore,incontrasttoacomparisonbetween
whitemalesandwhitefemales,weseestrongevidenceofdifferencesinmathacademicperformancebetween
whitemalesandminoritystudentsthatarelikelytoinfluenceteachersrelativeratingsofability.
Table2
StandardizedDifferencesinMathTestandGPAbyLevelofMathCourse
Becauseourdependentvariableiscategorical,weemploymultinomiallogisticregressionforourmultivariate
analyses.Teacherratingsofthecoursebeingtooeasyornotdifficultenoughforthestudentareeachseparately
predictedagainstthereferencecategoryofperceivingthecourseistheappropriatelevel.Theresultsofthese
multinomiallogisticanalysesarepresentedasoddsratios,inwhichvaluesgreaterthanoneindicateahigher
likelihoodoftheoutcomecomparedtothereferencecategory,andvalueslessthanoneindicatealowerlikelihood.
Resultspredictingateacherratingofthecoursebeingtooeasyarepresentedontheleftsideofthetables,while
resultspredictingateacherratingofthecoursebeingtoodifficultarepresentedontheright.Foreachmathcourse
levelwebeginwithabaselinemodelthatincludesonlygenderandracial/ethnicsubgroupindicatorsas
independentvariables.Inmodel2,wemovetowardsidentifyingtheexistenceofconditionalbiasbyadding
indicatorsoftestscoresandGPAtothemodel,andnotingtheextenttowhichdisparitiesinteacherratings
accordingtostudentsgenderandrace/ethnicityremain.Finally,inmodel3weaddtheaforementionedindicators
forparents,teachers,andschools.
Toexaminethepossibilitythatgradesandtestscorescontributeddifferentlytoteacherperceptionsforcertain
subgroups,inexploratoryanalysesweincludedinteractiontermsbetweenacademicperformanceandstudents
genderandrace/ethnicity.Additionally,assomepriorliteraturehassuggestedtheneedtoconsidertheinterplay
betweenteacherandstudentcharacteristics(Alexander,Entwisle,andThompson1987),wealsoconstructed
interactionsofteachersbackground(e.g.,gender,yearsteaching)andstudentsgenderandrace/ethnicity.Noneof
theinteractionswerestatisticallysignificant,nordidtheyimprovemodelfitoraltertheresultsofotherkey
indicatorsthereforetheyarenotincludedinthemodelspresentedhere.
Toaccountfortheclusteringofstudentswithinschools,weutilizedsampleweightsandestimatedrobuststandard
errorsusingStatasoftware.Exploratorymodelsusinghierarchicallinearmodeling(HLM)softwareprovided
comparableresults.Inadditiontothemultinomiallogisticregressionresults,wealsocalculatedmarginaleffects
acrossmodels,assomehavearguedthatthisoffersamoreaccuratecomparisonofdifferencesacrossnestedmodels
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and/orcomparingdifferentgroupsorsamples(Mood2010).Allresultswereconsistentwiththemodelspresented
here.Missingvalueswereimputedviasingleimputation.
LowLevelMathCourse
Table3presentstheoddsratiosforstudentsinthelowmathgroup.Beginningwiththebaselinemodelincluding
onlyindicatorsofgenderandracial/ethnicsubgroup,weseethatrelativetowhitemales,bothwhitefemalesand
Blackmalesarelesslikelytobeviewedasbeinginaclassconsideredtooeasy(asindicatedbyanoddsratioless
thanone),comparedtothecontrastcategoryofbeinginaclassthatistheappropriatelevel.Inmodel2weadd
indicatorsformathtestscoreandGPA,bothofwhichpositivelyandsignificantlyincreasetheoddsofreceivinga
ratingofthecoursebeingtooeasy.Withtheadditionofthesemeasuresofmathperformance,theoddsratiofor
Blackmalesincreasestowardsoneandisnolongerstatisticallysignificant.However,thedisparitybetweenwhite
femalesandwhitemalesremainswiththeinclusionofacademicperformanceindicators.Thisisalsothecasein
model3,whereweaddourfullarrayofbackgroundvariablescapturingstudent,family,andschoolcharacteristics.
Ofthesebackgroundcharacteristics,wenotethatstudentswithteacherswhohavebeenteachinglongerareless
likelytobeperceivedasbeingintooeasyaclass.
Table3
OddsRatiosfromMultinomialLogisticRegressionPredictingMath
TeachersPerceptionsofStudentsinLowLevelMathCourse
ThesecondhalfofTable3displaysresultspredictingthemathteachersperceptionthatthestudentisinacourse
thatistoodifficult(ratherthantheappropriatelevel).Model1showsthat,comparedtowhitemales,Blackstudents
ofbothgendersandHispanicfemalesareallmorelikelytobeperceivedasbeinginaclassthatistoodifficultfor
them.Forexample,theoddsofateacherratingalowlevelmathcourseastoodifficultforaBlackfemalestudent
areabouttwotimestheoddsforawhitemalestudent.However,oncemathgradesandtestscoresareintroducedin
model2,theoddsratiosforallthreegroupsarereducedinsizeandnonearestatisticallysignificant.Therefore,we
notethattheonlyevidenceofconditionalbiaswefindamongstudentsinthelowmathcourselevelisthatwhite
femalesaresignificantlylesslikelythanwhitemalestoreceiveateacherevaluationofthecoursebeingtooeasyfor
them.
AverageLevelMathCourse
Table4showsresultsforstudentsintheaveragelevelmathcourse,whichcorrespondstotakinggeometryin10th
gradeandincludesalmosthalfofthestudentsinoursample.Lookingacrossthethreemodelspredictingtheodds
ofreceivingateacherratingofthecoursebeingtooeasyforthestudent,weonceagainfindthatwhitefemalesare
significantlylesslikelythanwhitemalestoreceivesucharating.Thisdisparityremainsoncemeasuresofacademic
performancearetakenintoaccountinmodel2,andadditionalcontrolsareaddedinmodel3.
Table4
TeachersPerceptionsofStudentsinAverageLevelMathCourse
Bycontrastwefindnodifferencesinratingsforthetooeasycategorybetweenwhitemalesandallothersubgroups
inthebaselinemodel,butdisparitiesemergeinmodel2withtheinclusionoftestscoresandgrades,suchthatBlack
malesandfemalesaremorelikelythanwhitemalestobeviewedasbeingintooeasyacourseoncewecondition
onperformance.However,inmodel3thecorrespondingoddsratiosforBlackstudentsofbothgendersmoveback
towardsoneandarenolongerstatisticallysignificant.Exploratoryanalysesrevealedthatitistheinclusionofthe
measuresforpercentminorityintheschoolthatleadstothedecreaseandlossofsignificanceoftheseresults.As
seeninTable4,studentsinschoolswithgreaterthan66percentminorityaremorelikelythanthoseinschoolsin
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thelowestthirdofpercentminoritytobeconsideredtobeintooeasyofacourse.Theseresultssuggestthat
teachersinhighminorityschoolsmayfeelthattheirstudentsinaveragelevelmathclassesarecapableoflearning
moredifficultmaterial,afactthat,oncetakenintoaccount,resultsinstatisticallyindistinguishableratingsbetween
Blackstudentsandwhitemalestudents.Whilespeculative,thisexplanationisconsistentwithsomerecentstudies
thatfindthatthecontentofmathcoursesislessrigorousinpoorand/orhighminorityschools(Dougherty,Mellor,
andJian2006RiegleCrumbandGrodsky2010).
TherightsideofTable4reportstheoddsofstudentsbeingperceivedasbeinginacoursethatistoodifficultby
theirmathteacher.Inmodel1weseethatBlackandHispanicstudentsofbothgendershaveahigherprobability
thanwhitemalesofbeingviewedbytheirteachersasbeingintoodifficultacourse.Forexample,theoddsthata
Blackmaleisviewedasbeingintoodifficultaclassarealmostthreetimestheoddsforawhitemale.Oncewe
conditionongradesandtestscoresinmodel2,theoddsratiosareclosetooneandnolongerstatistically
significant.Wealsonotethatoncegradesandtestscoresareincludedinthemodel,theoddsratiocomparingwhite
femalestowhitemalesincreasesinsizeandbecomesstatisticallysignificant.Specifically,theoddsofreceivinga
teacherratingoftheclassbeingtoodifficultare1.3timesgreaterforwhitefemalesthanforwhitemales.
SubsequentexploratoryanalysesindicatedthatitistheinclusionofmathGPAthatleadstothisresult,suggesting
thatteachersmaybedownplayingthegradesthatgirlsearn.Theoddsratioforwhitefemalesremainssignificant
withtheinclusionoffamily,teacher,andschoolcharacteristicsinmodel3.Therefore,whenexaminingpatterns
withinaveragelevelcourses,wefindevidencesuggestingconditionalteacherbiastowardswhitefemalesatboth
endsofthespectrum,suchthattheclassisjudgedtoberelativelyeasierforwhitemalesandalsorelativelymore
difficultforwhitefemales.
AdvancedLevelMathCourse
Finally,Table5displaystheresultsforstudentsinthehighestlevelmathcoursesin10thgrade.Ontheleftsideof
thetable,weseethattherearenostatisticallysignificantracial/ethnicandgenderdifferencesinthebaselinemodel.
However,onceweconditionongradesandtestscoresinmodel2,whitefemalesaresignificantlylesslikelythan
whitemalestobeviewedbytheirteachersasbeingintooeasyaclass.Specifically,withthesameGPAandtest
scores,whitefemalesinadvancedhighschoolmathcoursesareapproximately40percentlesslikelythanwhite
malestoreceiveateacherassessmentoftheclassbeingtooeasyforthemalternatively,whitemalesare60percent
morelikelythanwhitefemalestoberatedasbeingintooeasyaclass.Thisdisparityremainsinthefinalfullmodel.
Table5
TeachersPerceptionsofStudentsinAdvancedLevelMathCourse
Movingtotherightsideofthetable,weseethatHispanicmalesaresignificantlymorelikelythanwhitemalestobe
viewedasbeinginaclassthatistoodifficult.Yetthisdisparityinteacherassessmentdisappearsoncewecondition
ontheobservabledifferencesbetweengroupsontestscoresandgradesinmodel2.Alsointhismodel,theodds
ratiocomparingBlackfemalestowhitemalesisnowmuchsmallerandstatisticallysignificant,indicatingthatonce
differencesinperformancearetakenintoaccount,Blackfemalesinadvancedhighschoolmatharelesslikelythan
whitemalestobeviewedasbeinginacoursetoodifficultforthem.Thisresultremainsinthefinalmodel.Of
schoolcharacteristics,privateschoolsshowasignificantdifferencefrompublicschools,withthesestudentsmore
likelytobeperceivedasbeinginbothtooeasyortoodifficultacourse.
DISCUSSIONANDCONCLUSION
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Buildingongendertheoriesthatarticulatehowinequalityisconstructedthroughinteractionsanddailyexchanges
betweenindividuals,thisstudyfocusedonwhetherhighschoolmathteachersformbiasedperceptionsofthe
femalestudentsintheirclassrooms.Weextendthesmallbodyofextantresearchonthistopicbeyondafocusona
fewelementaryclassroomsorschools,toconsiderevidenceofbiasforanationallyrepresentativesampleofhigh
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schoolstudents.Ouranalysessupporttheideathatstereotypesshapeteacherspersonalevaluationsoftheirmale
andfemalestudents,butalsoindicatethatwemustconsiderthecomplexityofbiasandmovepastassumptionsof
broadgenderpatterns.
Specifically,wefindevidencethatinformstheoriesofintersectionalityandliteratureonvariationinthesaliencyof
genderedstatusexpectationsacrosscontexts.First,ourworksupportstheideathatthesocialcategoriesofgender
andrace/ethnicityintersecttogenerateuniqueexperiencesfordifferentgroupsinthedomainofeducation.Yetin
contrasttotheoriesthatminorityfemalesconsistentlysufferadoublepenaltyasaresultoftheirlowerstatusonthe
axesofbothrace/ethnicityandgender(Tang1997),wefindthatitiswhitefemaleswhomostconsistentlyarethe
recipientofconditionalbiasinhighschoolmathclassrooms.Comparedtotheirwhitemalepeersinthesamelevel
class,andcontrollingfordifferencesinbothgradesandtestscores,highschoolmathteachersarelesslikelyto
judgewhitefemalesasbeinginaclassthatistooeasyforthem.Thisspeakstothepresenceofaperhapssubtleyet
omnipresentstereotypeinhighschoolclassrooms:Math,comparativelyspeaking,isjusteasierforwhitemalesthan
itisforwhitefemales.
Incontrast,wefindthatatalllevelsofcoursetaking,differencesinteacherperceptionsofabilitythatfavoredwhite
malesoverminoritystudentsofbothgendersareexplainedawaybystudentachievementintheformoftestscores
andgrades.Inotherwords,oncewetakeintoaccountthat,onaverage,BlackandHispanicmaleandfemale
studentshavelowergradesandtestscoresthanwhitemales,teachersdonotratethemathabilityofminority
studentslessfavorablythanstudentsbelongingtothetraditionallyadvantagedcategoryofwhitemales.Wecaution
thatourresultsinnowayimplythatnegativestereotypespertainingtostudentsracial/ethnicbackgroundareabsent
incontemporaryschools.Researchersofstereotypethreat(Aronsonetal.1999Steele1997)wouldlikelybe
correcttoarguethatthetestscoresonwhichweconditionarepartlyinfluencedbypreviousexposureto
racial/ethnic(aswellasgender)stereotypes.Ourstudyexaminesjustoneformofpotentialbiasandfindsthat,net
ofstrongachievementdifferencesandallthatsuchdifferencesencompass,teachersdonotperceivemaleand
femaleminoritystudentsashavinglowermathabilitythantheirwhitemalepeers.
Infact,wenotesomeresultsthatsuggestsomewhattheoppositepattern,andspeaktotheimportanceof
consideringvariationinthesaliencyofstereotypesacrossdifferentcontexts.Amongstudentsintheadvancedlevel,
wefindthatteachersarelesslikelytoviewthecourseastoodifficultfortheirBlackfemalestudentsincomparison
towhitemales.Suchafindingrunscountertobothgenderandracialstereotypes.WenotethatBlackfemales(as
wellasotherminoritystudentsinthesample)arelesslikelytobeinhighlevelmathcourses.Specifically,only
about12percentofBlackfemalesareintheadvancedmathlevel.PerhapsteachersviewthefewBlackfemalesin
theiradvancedcoursesashavingachievedmuchtomakeitthisfar,suggestinggreaterperseveranceandavery
highdegreeofacademicpotential.Clearlythisisbutonepossibleexplanationofthepatternsobservedhereandis
speculativeatbest.Welooktowardsothersinthefieldtofurtherexaminehowraceandgenderidentitiesintersect
intheclassroominwaysthatbothbenefitanddiminishstudentsexperiences,andsuggestthatqualitativework
maybeparticularlyhelpfulinthisregard(Morris2007).
Finally,wealsofindevidenceofvariationacrosscontextwithregardtobiastowardswhitefemales.While
teachersperceptionsofmathbeingeasierforwhitemalesthanwhitefemalesappearacrossallcourselevels,itis
onlyintheaverageclassroomcontextthatwhitefemalesarealsomorelikelytobejudgedasbeingintoodifficulta
class.Thissuggeststhatbiastowardswhitefemalesisstrongestinthismidlevelcontext.Onepotentialexplanation
isthatteachersrelymoreonstatusexpectationswhenmakingjudgmentsofstudentsinclasseswherenotionsof
mathabilityaremoreambiguous.Incontrasttostudentswhooccupythetopandbottomofthecoursetaking
hierarchy,thosethatoccupythepopulousmiddlegroundhavealessdistinctacademicstatus.Inthepresenceof
uncertainty,stereotypesofferactorscleardirectiononhowtocategorizeandsortpeople(Correll,Bernard,andPaik
2007).Therefore,teachersmayrelymoreonnotionsoffemalesinferiorabilityininteractionswithinthismiddle
ground.
Sowhywouldthisworktothedetrimentofwhitefemales,butnotnecessarilytheirminorityfemalepeers?And
whydoweingeneralfindsuchaconsistentpatternsuggestingbiasintheclassroominteractionsbetweenteachers
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andtheirwhitefemalestudentsinparticular?Asmentionedbefore,onedistinctpossibilityisthatthelowrelative
achievementofminorityfemaleandmalestudentscapturesyearsofpreviousexposuretobiasandstereotypes,
leavingnothingdiscernibleinthekindofconditionalbiaswemeasure.Anotherpossibilityisthatgenderbiasheld
byteachers(andindividualsinsocietyingeneral)issosociallyingrainedthatitishardtograspand,therefore,hard
toresist,whileatthesametimeteachersmaybekeenlyawareofrace/ethnicityintheclassroom,andanyopinionor
actionontheirpartthatwouldsuggestdiscrimination.Morerecentlyteachereducationprogramshaveprioritized
traininginculturalsensitivityanddiversity,andprofessionaldevelopmentprogramsforinserviceteachershave
likewisefollowed(Tatto1996).Therefore,contemporaryteachersmaybemoreselfreflectivewhenassessingthe
performanceofminoritystudents.Ifthisisthecase,thenwhitefemalesremainasthemostlikelyrecipientoflow
statusexpectationsintheinteractionsbetweenteachersandstudentsinthemathclassroom.
Thefindingsofthisstudysuggesttheneedforfutureresearch.Specifically,wecouldlearnmuchfromqualitative
researchthatexplicitlystudieshowteacherbiasplaysoutinthehighschoolclassroom.Asstudentsgrowolderthey
becomemoresociallyawareandmaybebetterabletopickupsubtlesocialcuesandperceiveteacherexpectations
moreaccurately(McKownandWeinstein2002)thissuggeststhatcomparativestudiesofbiasatdifferentlevelsof
educationwouldbeinformative.Additionally,whilealonghistoryofsociologicalandeducationalresearch
remindsusthatschoolsareaprimarysiteofsocialreproduction(BowlesandGintis1976),weechothecallof
morerecentfeministresearcherswhoarticulatetheneedformoreresearchontheinteractionsbetweenteachersand
studentsthatconstruct,aswellasdeconstruct,genderdifference(Deutsch2007Risman2009).
Finally,wenotethatwhiletheevidenceofconditionalbiastowardswhitefemalesthatwedetectisrelativelysmall
inmagnitude,weshouldnotdiminishitspotentialimportance.Theoccurrenceofbiasinhighschoolclassrooms
indicatesthatculturalexpectationslikelyfunctiontoshapeinteractionsandrecreateinequalitythroughoutthemath
pipelinethatleadstohighstatusoccupationsinrelatedfieldsofscienceandtechnology.Indeed,Valiannotesthat
thelongtermconsequencesofsmalldifferencesintheevaluationandtreatmentofmenandwomenalsoholdup
theglassceiling(1999,3).Whileitiseasytodismissanyoneinstanceorinteractionasinconsequential,itisthe
accumulationofthousandsofsuchexperiencesoverthelifetimeoftheindividualthatlikelyworktocreate,
maintain,andreproduceinequalityinamannerthatisalmostinvisibleandthereforeinsidious(ProkosandPadavic
2005RidgewayandCorrell2004).
Acknowledgments
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ThisresearchwassupportedbyagrantawardedtothePopulationResearchCenter(5R24HD042849)atThe
UniversityofTexasatAustinbytheEuniceKennedyShriverNationalInstituteofHealthandChildDevelopment,
andalsobyagrantfromtheNationalScienceFoundation(DUE0757018),ChandraMuller,PI,CatherineRiegle
Crumb,CoPI,andR.KellyRaley,CoPI.Opinionsreflectthoseoftheauthorsanddonotnecessarilyreflectthose
ofthegrantingagencies.
APPENDIX
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VARIABLEDESCRIPTIONS
DependentVariable Ourdependentvariableisbasedonaquestionaskedofthestudentsmathteachers:Isthis
classtoodifficult,theappropriatelevel,ornotchallengingenoughforthisstudent?Thesourcevariableis
BYTM10fromtheMathTeachersurveyintheBaseYearELSdata.
GenderandRacial/EthnicGroup Theseareaseriesofdichotomousvariableseachindicatingtheselfidentified
race/ethnicityandgenderofthestudent.TheyincludenonHispanicwhitefemale,Blackmale,Blackfemale,
Hispanicmale,andHispanicfemale.StudentswhoidentifiedasbothBlackandwhitewerecategorizedasBlack.
ThereferencecategoryforthesevariablesisnonHispanicwhitemales.StudentswhoidentifiedasAsian/Pacific
Islander,NativeAmerican,orotherrace/ethnicitywereexcludedfromtheanalysis.Thesourcevariablesforthese
constructsareF1RACE_RandF1SEX,bothfromtheELSFirstFollowUpdata.Thegendersourcevariablefor
thisconstructasksthestudenttochoosebetweentheresponsecategoriesofmaleandfemale.
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MathLevelin10thGrade UsingtheCSSCcodes(ClassificationofSecondarySchoolCoursestaxonomy)fromthe
FirstFollowUpTranscriptStudy,students10thgrademathcoursewascategorizedasbeingbelowaverage,
average,oraboveaveragefortheirgrade.StudentsenrolledinGeometryin10thgradewereplacedinthe
averagelevelmathcourse,whilethoseenrolledinalessadvancedcoursewerecategorizedasbeinginalow
levelmathcourse(includingBasic/RemedialMath,General/AppliedMath,PreAlgebra,orAlgebraI).Finally,
studentsinacoursethatwasmoreadvancedthanGeometryinthe10thgradewereplacedintheadvancedlevel
mathcourse(includingAlgebraII,AdvancedMath,PreCalculus,orCalculus).Assomeschoolsordermath
coursesdifferently(withGeometrytakenafterAlgebraIandAlgebraII),wetookintoconsiderationthestudents
coursesequencefrom9thto10thgrade.StudentswhotookAlgebraIIin9thgradeandGeometryin10thgrade
werecategorizedasbeinginanadvancedlevelcourse.10thGradeMathTestScore:ThestudentsMathIRT
estimatednumberrightadministeredbyELSwhenthestudentwasin10thgrade.SourcevariableisBYTXMIRR
fromELSBaseYeardata.
10thGradeMathGPA ThisindicatesthestudentsmathGPAintheir10thgradeyear.Themeasureusesthe
standardizedcoursegradefromtheTranscriptstudy,andconvertsittoaconventional4pointscale.9thGrade
MathCourse:Thisvariableindicatesthelevelofmathcoursetakenwhenthestudentwasinthe9thgrade.Using
CSSCcodesfromtheFirstFollowUpTranscriptdata,9categoriesofmathcourseswerecreated.Thecodingisas
follows:0(nomathin9thgrade),1(Basic/RemedialMath),2(General/AppliedMath),3(PreAlgebra),4
(AlgebraI),5(Geometry),6(AlgebraII),7(AdvancedMath),8(PreCalculus,includingTrigonometry),9
(Calculus).Themodalcourseinoursamplewas4(AlgebraI).
AlternativeMathSequence UsingtheCSSCcodesidentifyingmathcoursesfromtheFirstFollowUpTranscript
data,weidentifiedthemostcommonorderofmathcoursestakenduringhighSchool.Thisdummyvariable
indicateswhetherthestudentssequenceofmathcoursesdifferedfromthismodalsequence:AlgebraI,Geometry,
AlgebraII.8.2percentofthetotalsampleofstudentsfollowedanalternatemathsequence:AlgebraI,AlgebraII,
Geometry.
Income ThesourcevariableforthismeasureisBYINCOMEintheELSBaseYeardata.Itiscodedasfollows:1
(none),2($1,000orless),3($1,001$5,000),4($5,001$10,000),5($10,001$15,000),6($15,001$20,000),7
($20,001$25,000),8($25,001$35,000),9($35,001$50,000),10($50,001$75,000),11($75,001$100,000),12
($100,001$200,000),13($200,001ormore).Werecodedthisvariablebycombiningcategories14,andthen
replacedeachvaluewiththemidpointoftheinterval.WerecodedthetopintervalusingamodifiedParetoformula
(seeHout2004).Eachmidpointvaluewasthendividedby10,000.Themeanincomevalueforoursample(in
$10,000units)is6.642.
ParentEducation Thisvariableisthehighestlevelofeducationreachedbyeitherofthestudentsparents,codedas
aseriesofdummyvariables.Thecategoriesare:lessthanHS,highschooldiplomaorGED,somecollege,2year
degree,4yeardegree,andadvanceddegree.Whenincludedinregressionmodels,parentswithahighschool
diplomaorGEDareusedasthereferencecategory.ThesourcevariableisF1PAREDintheELSFirstFollowUp
data.5.1percentoftheanalyticsamplehadthehighestparenteducationleveloflessthanhighschool,20percent
ofstudentshadparentswithahighschooldiplomaorGED,23.93percenthadparentsreportinghavingsome
college,11.78percenthadparentswitha2yeardegree,21.77percenthadparentswitha4yeardegree,and15.97
percenthadparentswithanadvanceddegree.
MathTeacherTotalYearsTeaching Thetotalyearsteachingvariableindicatesthetotalnumberofyearsthe
students10thgrademathteacherhasbeenteachingK12.Thevariablerangesfrom040,withameanof14.85.
ThesourcevariableisBYTM26CfromtheMathTeachersurveyintheBaseYearELSdata.
MathTeacherMathMajor Thisisadichotomousvariableindicatingwhetherthestudents10thgrademath
teacherwasamathmajor.ThesourcevariableisBYTM31AfromtheMathTeachersurveyintheBaseYearELS
data.59percentofstudentsinoursamplehadateacherwhosecollegemajorwasmath.MathTeacherFemale:
Thisisadichotomousvariableindicatingwhetherthestudents10thgrademathteacherwasfemale.Thesource
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variableisBYTM22fromtheMathTeachersurveyintheBaseYearELSdata.55.4percentofstudentshada
femalemathteacher.
SchoolSector Theschoolsectorvariablesareaseriesofdichotomousvariablesindicatingwhethertheschoolin
whichthestudentwasenrolledwasprivateorCatholic.Thereferencegroupispublicschools.Thesourcevariable
isBYSCTRLfromthelinkedCCD/PSS(CommonCoreofData/PrivateSchoolSurvey)data.91.72percentof
studentsinoursamplewereinpublicschools,3.54percentinprivate,and4.73percentinCatholic.
SchoolUrbanicity Theschoolurbanicityvariablesareaseriesofdichotomousvariablesindicatingwhetherthe
schoolinwhichthestudentwasenrolledwaslocatedinasuburbanorruralarea.Thereferencegroupisschoolsin
urbanareas.ThesourcevariableisBYURBANfromthelinkedCCD/PSSdata.26.24percentofstudentswerein
urbanschools,21.9percentinrural,and51.86percentinsuburban.
SchoolRegion Thisisaseriesofdichotomousvariablesindicatinginwhatregionthestudentsschoolis.The
variablescreatedareMidwest,South,andWest,andschoolsintheNortheastactasthereferencegroup.Thesource
variableisBYREGIONfromthelinkedCCD/PSSdata.35.83percentofstudentswereinschoolsintheSouth,
19.23percentintheWest,26.31percentintheMidwest,and18.63percentintheNortheast.
PercentMinority Thepercentminorityineachstudentsschoolisrepresentedwithaseriesofdummyvariables
indicatingthattheschoolhas033percentminority,34percent66percentminority,orabove66percentminority.
Schoolsinthelowestcategory(0to33percent)areusedasthereferencecategoryinregressionanalysis.These
categoriesarecreatedfromthesourcevariableCP02PMINfromthelinkedCCD/PSSdata.63.8percentof
studentsinthesamplewereinschoolswith033percentminority,23.2percentinschoolswith3466percent
minority,and13percentinschoolswithmorethan66percentminority.
Footnotes
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1Whilegenderdisparitiesinmathwereoncequitepronounced,differencesincoursetakingandtestscoreshavedisappearedor
greatlydiminishedinmostinstances(Hydeetal.2008XieandShauman2003).Incontrast,BlackandHispanicstudentstrail
theirwhitepeersinmathcoursetaking,grades,andtestscores,oftenbyadifferenceofastandarddeviationormore(Oakes
1985Phillips,Crouse,andRalph1998).
2ELSdoesnotprovideteacheridentificationnumbers,butinsteadlinksteacherresponsesdirectlytothestudentidentifierin
thesamemannerthatparentresponsesarealsolinkedtostudents.Thereforetherelationshipbetweenthestudentandteacher
dataistreatedasdyadic.
3Toaccountforthefactthatasmallpercentageofstudentsdonotprogressthroughthemathcoursesequenceinthetypical
orderofAlgebraI,Geometry,AlgebraII,andsoon,weincludetwoadditionalcontrolvariablesinallofouranalyses.Thefirstis
thecourselevelinwhichthestudentwasenrolledtheyearbefore(accordingtotheirhighschooltranscript),andthesecondisa
measureofwhethertheirschoolappearstoordercoursesdifferently,typicallywithGeometryoccurringafterAlgebraII.For
studentstowhichthislatterconditionapplied,weconsideredthemtobeinadvancedmathiftheywereinGeometryasa
sophomorehavingalreadycompletedbothAlgebraIandAlgebraII.
4Inanalysesnotshown,weusedstudents9thgradeGPAandfoundsubstantivelyidenticalresults.
5Whenansweringthesurvey,studentswereaskedtochoosebetweentheresponsecategoriesmaleandfemale.
Subsequentlyweusethesetermstorefertotherespondents.
6ThesmallnumberofstudentswhoidentifiedasbothwhiteandBlackwerecategorizedasBlackforouranalyses.
7Inexploratoryanalysesweincludedteacherrace/ethnicityasanindependentvariable,aswellasinteractionsbetweenteacher
andstudentrace/ethnicity.Becauseouroutcomesofinterestarerelativelyrarewithineachmathlevel,itisimportantnotto
overspecifythemodel.Therefore,welimitedinclusionofvariablestothosethataresignificantpredictorsandimproveoverall
modelfit(Peduzzietal.1996).Indicatorsofteacherrace/ethnicitymetneitherofthesecriteria,nordidtheirinclusionchange
themainresultsofouranalyses.Additionally,thesmallnumberofminoritystudentsinclassroomswithminorityteacherswithin
eachmathlevelledtounstableestimatesforinteractionsbetweenstudentandteacherbackground.
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