Race and Ethnicity

Learner Variable · All learner variables
Evidence · 197 claims (161 show a difference, 27 mixed, 9 no difference) · 147 studies (85 associational, 27 review, 15 causal, 8 theoretical, 7 qualitative, 3 design, 2 quant-synthesis), q1–q3 · 2 of 147 report an effect size · 195 claims rest on one study

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Race and ethnicity do not cause differences in learning. They are social categories, not learner abilities, and there is no evidence that race or ethnicity itself makes anyone learn more or less. They correlate with outcomes because they track the conditions learners meet: school funding and segregation, access to experienced teachers and advanced courses, tracking, discipline practices, family income and wealth, discrimination and stereotype threat, and tests and materials built around one group's language and culture.

So every gap listed below is a measure of those conditions, not of the learners. A claim that "Black and Hispanic students score lower" says where a system is serving learners unequally; a claim that a design "narrows the gap" says it changed some of those conditions. Read a group difference as a question about circumstances and treatment, never as a prediction about a learner. For design, the useful findings are the second kind: which instruction, support or school practice narrows a gap (see The evidence by question).

Description

Race and ethnicity are social categories, recorded in most education research from school and census records or from learners' own reports. In the research they appear as a predictor (gaps in achievement, attainment, discipline and access to advanced courses), as a moderator (a programme whose effect differs across groups) and as the population a programme serves. A gap by race or ethnicity describes unequal circumstances and treatment, such as school funding, teacher assignment, tracking and discrimination; it does not describe an ability of the learners. Categories also differ across countries and datasets, so findings rarely transfer unchanged.

Implications

Context

• Gaps by race or ethnicity are a baseline for reading an effect: narrowing a gap and raising everyone equally are different results.
• Many of the findings are descriptive and come from administrative data; they say where gaps are, not what closes them.

Target Learners

• Learners from racial and ethnic groups that schools and courses have historically served less well.

Target Learning Objectives

• Achievement, attainment, course-taking and discipline outcomes, where gaps are most often measured.

Claims

• A narrative review, citing Ford (2003), attributes the underrepresentation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in gifted education to identification measures biased toward another cultural background [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• A racial school-climate gap exists: White and Asian students generally report higher safety, support, and connectedness than African American, American Indian, and Hispanic students [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• A subset of about a quarter of Chicago high schools and 10 percent of middle-grades schools have very high suspension rates, almost all predominantly serving African-American students [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Academic benefits of restorative practice exposure are stronger for Black and Latino/a students than for White students, suggesting practices can reduce racial gaps [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Access to student teaching and residency pathways is unequal: only 46% of Black and 50% of Native American completers participated, and fewer than one third of education specialists did so [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Achievement declines from 2019 to 2022 were smaller for Asian American and White first and second graders than for Hispanic, Black, and AIAN students [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Achievement disparities by student race/ethnicity widened substantively during the pandemic [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Active learning narrows achievement gaps for disadvantaged and underrepresented students [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Active learning narrows the passing-rate gap between minoritized-group and non-minoritized students in undergraduate STEM by 45% on average [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Active learning reduces the examination-score achievement gap between minoritized-group and non-minoritized students in undergraduate STEM by 33% on average [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• African American and Latinx teacher candidates fail state certification assessments (Praxis I and II) at much higher rates than white candidates, while performance assessments show smaller disparities. [~M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• African American secondary school staff perceived their schools' instructional equity less positively than staff of other races/ethnicities [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• African American students are the most mobile group of CPS students, and the gap between them and other students widened after 2000-01, especially at the elementary level [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• African-American and Asian students are more likely than Latino and white students to live within multiple magnet neighborhood zones [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• African-American students and mostly African-American South Side communities showed less improvement in graduation and dropout rates than other students and North Side communities [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• African-American students travel farther to attend magnet elementary schools than students of other ethnicities [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• African-American students' disproportionate retention was largely explained by lower prior test scores [~W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• After Hillsdale High School detracked into heterogeneous small learning communities, 100% of African American and Latinx 9th-graders enrolled in biology (up from 18% in 2002–03) and assessment performance matched high-track schools [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• AI/AN students experienced chronic absence rates among the highest of any ethnic group before and after the pandemic [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• AI/AN students have comparatively low access to well-prepared teachers: 27 percent were taught mathematics by teachers with a mathematics degree, significantly lower than any comparison group [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• AI/AN youth dropout rates reach up to 50 percent, and college matriculation and retention rates remain very low compared to White peers [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Algebra access gaps are tied to school poverty levels, geography, and race/ethnicity [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• American Indian and Alaska Native students often do not willingly participate in the question-answer activity that constitutes most classroom discussions, because direct questioning in front of peers contradicts community norms [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• American Indian and Alaska Native, Black, and Latinx students and students in high-poverty schools were disproportionately impacted by pandemic-era achievement declines, particularly in elementary grades [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• American Indian/Alaska Native students showed higher disengagement under remote testing than in-school testing [~W] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Among students with the same high grades, ACT scores differ substantially by race/ethnicity, a pattern the report flags as possible racial bias [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• AP Computer Science participation is disproportionately low among girls and students of color [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Asian and white CPS students score consistently higher than Latino and African-American students in reading and math, and Asian students score significantly higher in math than white students [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• ASSISTments benefited Hispanic students more than non-Hispanic students [-M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• ASSISTments benefited students of color significantly more than White students, narrowing the ethnic achievement gap [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• At racially/ethnically diverse schools, African American boys are suspended at about 13 percentage points higher rates than other students in the same school [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Attainment indices vary sharply by race/ethnicity and gender: Black young men face a projected PAI of 12.6 percent versus 62.0 percent for Asian/Pacific Islander young women [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Attrition was concentrated in schools with higher concentrations of racial/ethnic minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged students [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• In the decade or so to 2017, Chicago Public Schools saw large rises in freshman on-track rates (2006 to 2017), graduation, and college enrollment, with the greatest on-track increases among Black and Latino males [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• BIPOC students' math achievement in fall 2020 dropped substantially relative to pre-pandemic national norms, with the largest declines in grades 4-6 [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Black Americans comprise only 8% of the 5.3 million tech occupation jobs in the U.S. [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Black and Hispanic students attained postsecondary readiness and success outcomes at substantially lower rates than White students [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Black and Latinx students generally feel less safe at school than their White peers [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Black and Latinx students were less likely than their peers to be in the On-Track category, and within each race/ethnicity group boys were less likely to be on-track than girls [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Black charter students outperform their Black TPS peers in reading (about 24 additional days) but both groups lag the average White TPS student substantially [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Black Parent PLUS borrowers default at disproportionately high rates compared with White parent borrowers [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Black secondary students lost 103 days of instruction per 100 enrolled, 82 more days than their White peers [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Black transfer students are more likely to persist in engineering than non-transfer black students after controlling for credits earned, a pattern not found for students of other ethnicities [+W] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Black, AIAN, and Latinx students made 55-68% of typical math gains and 73-86% of typical reading gains during the pandemic, while Asian American students made 88-100% [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Black, Hispanic/Latino/a, and Multiracial preschool children were underrepresented in higher-quality (Tier 4 and 5) programs [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Black, Latino/a, Native American, English learner, and special education students are disproportionately represented among students experiencing homelessness [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Black-White achievement gaps widen during school periods and shrink during summers among kindergarten through eighth-grade students [~W] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino students earned fewer first-year baccalaureate units than White and Asian students in every QR placement category in both cohorts [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino students were overrepresented in lower QR placement categories relative to their share of the 2018 CSU entering cohort [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• California residency program completers are more likely to identify as candidates of color than completers of other preparation pathways [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Cancer-related fear and fatalism shape lung cancer screening decisions, and Hispanic adults preferred balanced risk communication that minimizes fear [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Children from all racial/ethnic groups were projected to gain more in higher-tier programs, but most racial/ethnic differences were not statistically significant [~M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Chronic absence rates among Native students vary widely across states, with Alaska highest at 60% Native versus 37% White in 2022/23 [~M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• College completion among CPS 2017 immediate enrollees shows large disparities by race/ethnicity and gender, with fewer than one-third of Black and Latino young men completing a bachelor's degree [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Controlling for school poverty greatly reduces but does not eliminate racial/ethnic gaps at kindergarten entry [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• CPS high school graduation rates show large gaps by race/ethnicity and gender, with young men graduating at lower rates than young women within every race/ethnicity group [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Digital skill gaps are large and racialized among U.S. earners, and digital skill level correlates with earnings [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Districts serving higher shares of Black, Hispanic/Latino, and economically disadvantaged students had significantly lower teacher certification rates [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• During Phase I reform, a subset of very disadvantaged, racially isolated African-American schools showed weak improvement [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Early childhood credential candidates face financial, time, and navigation barriers that fall hardest on candidates of color [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Early childhood education programs often yield larger benefits for children most in need, such as low-income children, children of color, and those with fewer educational resources [+W] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Effects of active learning on achievement gaps vary widely across studies, with a minority of studies showing larger benefits for non-minoritized students [~M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Experienced teachers and teachers with a master's degree are highly effective overall but much less effective for Black than non-Black students [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Field trip effects on science achievement are largest for Hispanic students and students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Financial hardship disproportionately impacts residents of color, and financial barriers are the biggest recruitment challenge [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Frequent RJ use by teachers shows preliminary indications of reducing the racial discipline gap, though disparities persist [~M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Freshman OnTrack rates improved most among the highest-risk students, including Black and Latinx young men and the lowest-achieving entrants [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Full-day pre-k enrollment grew substantially after the policy changes, tripling for Black, lowest-income, and mostly-Black-neighborhood students [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Gateway students graduate at high rates, including 100% of African American, Latina/o, and students with disabilities [-W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Gender differences in ninth-grade math grades were similar across racial/ethnic groups, with young men earning fewer points in every group [-M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• In one study summarised in a policy brief, students and teachers who learned their commonalities through getting-to-know-you surveys reported more positive relationships, students earned higher grades, and achievement gaps for Black and Latinx students closed by more than 60% [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Girls and underrepresented minorities remain far below representative participation on AP computer science exams, though new exams show gains [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Graduation rates by age 19 in Chicago varied substantially by race/ethnicity and gender, with African-American boys lowest (39 percent) and Asian girls highest (85 percent) [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Graduation rates improved for all racial, ethnic, and economic groups, but racial and ethnic gaps increased while gender, poverty, and disability gaps declined [~M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Growth for all race/ethnicity groups lagged pre-pandemic trends in 2023-24, with marginalized students furthest from recovery [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Having a teacher highly effective for Black students shows no detrimental effect on non-Black students' test scores [-M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Higher proportions of Black and Hispanic students than White and Asian students are off-track for college readiness throughout middle school [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Hispanic adults in LCS focus groups reported limited awareness and understanding of lung cancer screening, including eligibility, benefits, and harms [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Hispanic adults preferred clear, friendly, direct, and nonjudgmental communication for lung cancer screening shared decision-making [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Hispanic adults valued culturally relevant visual design — bright colors, Hispanic representation, and realistic imagery — in lung cancer screening educational materials [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Hispanic and low-income students reported more challenges and technology problems after the shift online than non-Hispanic White and higher-income peers; rural students did not differ [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Hispanic charter students perform similarly to their Hispanic TPS peers in both subjects, while both groups lag the average White TPS student [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Hispanic students graduated at far lower rates than white and Asian ELL students despite similar course performance patterns [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Hispanic students reported higher frequencies of six of the seven non-technology challenges measured in the survey [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Historical legacy of boarding schools and biased attendance responses deepen generational distrust that undermines attendance partnerships with AI/AN families [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• In 2016, 17.2% of teachers in high student of color enrollment schools were in their first or second year, compared to 9.1% in low-enrollment schools, and the gap widened from 2014 to 2016 [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• In 2016, schools with high enrollment of students of color were four times as likely to employ uncertified teachers as schools with low enrollment of students of color [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• In a reservation-school literacy assessment study, fourth-grade AI/AN students were average or above in phonemic awareness, word recognition, vocabulary, and reading rate but low in comprehension [~M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• In early online implementations of the Skyline Data Path course, Filipino students' success rates exceeded the course average while Latino students' fell below it [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• In one university's records, minority students visit a drop-in tutoring center more often than Caucasian students, while first-generation and other students do not differ in visits [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• In schools offering both course types, enrollment differs by race/ethnicity, with more White students in single-discipline courses [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• In the sole Salem-Keizer study, team recommendations split evenly between social supports and surveillance, with racial differences in recommendation types [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• In Virginia, Hispanic/Latino children labeled English Learners with low kindergarten literacy were 20 percent less likely to achieve grade-3 reading proficiency than similar peers [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• In-school suspension rates nearly doubled for African American high school students between 2008-09 and 2013-14 while remaining steady for other groups [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Individual-difference themes (academic motivation, emotional stability, gender, race and ethnicity) are associated with school belonging [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Inequalities at kindergarten entry by race/ethnicity decreased between 2010 and 2017 [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Integrated schools are most likely to keep pace with ITBS norms while predominantly minority and African-American schools are most likely to lag [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Interdistrict desegregation choice plans decrease segregation, help close racial achievement gaps, and improve racial attitudes and long-term outcomes [+M] — instruction changes the gap
• Large racial and socioeconomic achievement disparities persisted in an affluent high-performing district [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Latino CPS graduates who aspire to a four-year degree are least likely to plan to attend a four-year college after graduation [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Latinx two-year college students' spring-to-fall return rates declined most among race/ethnicity and gender groups in 2020 [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Latinx, Black, and Asian students participated at higher rates than White peers; household size explained Latinx, Black, and Asian differences [~M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Less positive school organizational conditions account for the higher minority teacher turnover rate; once conditions are controlled, the minority-nonminority turnover difference becomes statistically insignificant [~M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Local School Council decisions collectively produced racialized differences in SRO presence, with Black students more than twice as likely as other students to have an SRO in their school [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Localizing word-problem character names improved MATHia performance only for specific subgroup-majority schools, with no improvement in sense of belonging overall [~M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Long-term Hispanic ELLs had the worst course performance and graduation rates, with only 52 percent graduating within four years [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Magnet elementary schools enroll larger percentages of white and Asian students and smaller percentages of Latino and African-American students than non-magnet schools [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Majority-Black community areas had the highest school dispersion: 21 of the 25 community areas with the highest dispersion ratios were majority-Black [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Many applicants failed to complete post-application admission requirements, with Black and Latino students least likely to complete them [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Minority teacher turnover rates have been significantly higher than nonminority turnover, and the gap widened after 2004 [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Minority teachers are disproportionately employed in high-poverty, high-minority, urban public schools [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Minority teachers have lower observation scores than white teachers but no significant differences on value added [~M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• NAEP scores in 2019 were higher for most racial/ethnic groups in both subjects and grades compared to the early 1990s, but grade 8 reading was lower for all groups except Asian/Pacific Islander students compared to 2017 [~W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Nearly half of Black and Hispanic preschoolers attend schools where over 90% of students are students of color [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Ninth-grade enrollment in school types differed by community-area racial/ethnic makeup: 22 of 30 majority-Black areas had at least 25 percent of ninth-graders in charter schools, and no majority-Latinx area had a quarter in selective enrollment [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• On-Track gains were largest in the lowest-performing schools and among African American and Latino males [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• High-intensity active learning narrows achievement gaps far more than low-intensity active learning; intensity of in-class active engagement is positively correlated with narrower gaps [~M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Overreliance on dominant outcomes constrains learning and mathematical identity of students of color [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Pandemic achievement declines were uneven across racial/ethnic groups, with the largest declines still apparent for Hispanic, Black, and AIAN students in spring 2022 [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Perceived safety changes under reduced suspension use varied by school racial composition: a small decline in predominantly Latino schools and a similar-sized but non-significant improvement in predominantly Black schools [~M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• PLI was associated with positive SBAC gains for African American, Hispanic, and Asian elementary students and no negative impact on any ethnic group [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Poor, minority, and low-achieving students are disproportionately exposed to mid-year entry [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Pre-kindergarten attendance predicts college enrollment across racial and ethnic groups, most strongly four-year enrollment among Black and Hispanic students [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Pre-policy, White students were far more likely to enroll in full-day pre-k than other racial/ethnic groups regardless of distance [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Predominantly Hispanic and schools serving large numbers of African American and Hispanic students have lower standardized test scores than predominantly White schools even after adjusting for socioeconomic factors [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Projected bachelor's degree attainment is far lower for Black and Latino young men (10 and 14 percent) than the CPS district average of 20 percent [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Race, ethnicity, and class affect teacher perceptions and teacher behavior, including persistence with struggling students [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Race-by-gender disparities are more pronounced: Black boys lost 132 days per 100 enrolled and Black girls lost 77, seven times the rate of White girls [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Race-specific value-added scores predict teachers' subsequent effects: Black students taught by a teacher with high prior effectiveness for Black students show gains of about one standard deviation when the teacher moves schools or grades [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Racial achievement gaps in Chicago increased in all three eras, with African American students falling behind all other groups, especially in Era 3 [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Racial achievement gaps persist among California middle and high school students, with Asian and White students reporting higher academic achievement than African American, American Indian, and Hispanic students [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Racial composition, student mobility, limited-English percentage, and low-income concentration are not independently related to reform implementation once school size is accounted for [-M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Racial disparities in 2024-25 closure likelihood hold after accounting for enrollment declines and poverty [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Racial disparities in TPA pass rates appear in low-performing programs but not in programs with passing rates above 90% [~M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Racial, ethnic, and cultural identity development emerged as the core need for students of color beyond academic subjects [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Racial/ethnic disparities observed among older students are largely already in place among kindergartners [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Racially diverse schools show stronger achievement for historically underserved groups and positive effects on critical thinking, intergroup relationships, and civic engagement [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Regardless of location, schools with high student of color enrollment have a greater percentage of inexperienced teachers than low-enrollment schools, with urban schools most affected [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Retention rates for Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino students dropped more steeply between the second and third semesters than for White and Asian students in both cohorts [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Roughly 30 percent of U.S. students (15 to 16 million) lacked adequate internet or device access in late 2020, with rural, Native American, Black, and Latino students disproportionately affected [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• School improvement rates varied by community type: Latino, racially diverse, and integrated schools improved disproportionately, while stagnation concentrated in predominantly African-American low-income communities [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Schools play less of a role in widening racial/ethnic achievement gaps than children's prekindergarten environments [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Schools serving majority-Black students are overrepresented among closed schools pre- and post-pandemic [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Secondary suspension risk declined and the racial gap narrowed slightly since 2009-10, while elementary rates did not decline and some districts saw large increases [~M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Situated perspective explains Latino students' mathematical meaning-making in bilingual classrooms better than a discontinuity model (review reports Moschkovich, 1996) [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• State-level disparities in advanced course access are large, with New York showing a 54-percentage-point Calculus gap between low- and high-student-of-color-enrollment schools [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Student outcomes are higher when principals share students' race/ethnicity, though principals with different backgrounds can also improve outcomes through intentional antiracist approaches [~W] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Student test effort differs substantially across student gender and racial subgroups [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Students experiencing homelessness in California are chronically absent at twice the state average, with rates above 40% for African American and Native American/Alaskan students [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Supplemental analyses show statistically significant positive Head Start effects on one social-emotional subscale and two mothers' race/ethnicity subgroup comparisons for the 3-year-old cohort [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Systematic racial, ethnic and gender differences in grades persist among students with the same test scores, attendance, courses and teachers [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Teacher effectiveness for Black students is only imperfectly correlated with effectiveness for non-Black students (correlations between 0.28 and 0.67 depending on subject and grade level) [~W] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Teachers of color are judged more harshly in evaluations: within the same schools, Black teachers were 50 percent more likely than white teachers to receive a low rating. [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Teachers of color in focus groups report five workforce challenges: antagonistic culture, feeling undervalued, deprived agency and autonomy, unfavorable working conditions, and high personal costs [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Teachers of color leave schools or the profession at higher annual rates than White teachers, driven largely by school moving [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Teachers of color leave the teaching profession at higher rates than white teachers (about 19 percent vs. 15 percent turnover). [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Teachers underrefer culturally and linguistically diverse students for gifted identification [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Teachers who implemented restorative justice frequently had better student relationships and issued fewer referrals, with preliminary indications of reduced racial discipline gaps that were not fully eliminated [~M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• The 2021 PAI ranges widely by race/ethnicity and gender, from 11.6% for Black young men to 67.3% for Asian/Pacific Islander young women, and no group reaches the 75% aspiration level [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• The center-based early educator workforce is more racially and ethnically diverse than the TK–12 workforce, with 66% identifying as people of color versus 39% [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• The CPS test score gap between African-American students and other ethnic groups widened over the decade because Asian, white, and Latino scores improved at faster rates [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• The full-day vs. half-day attendance gap was largest for Black students, at about 4-5 percentage points [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• The home digital divide narrowed by 2003 and schools partially compensated, with predominantly African-American elementary students using school computers more than integrated-school students [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• The pathway from full-day pre-k to better second-grade outcomes was especially strong among Black students, lowest-income students, and students living in mostly-Black neighborhoods [+W] — an instructional effect differs by group
• The return to college selectivity remains large for black, Hispanic, and students from less-educated families [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• The webinar frames pandemic learning impact as a concern particularly for students of color and students living in poverty [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• U.S. high schools with high student of color enrollment are less likely to offer advanced mathematics courses than schools with low student of color enrollment [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• U.S. high schools with high student of color enrollment are less likely to offer advanced science courses than schools with low student of color enrollment [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• When AI/AN communities design their own place-, culture-, and language-based education programs, students' school engagement and learning flourish [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• When compared within racial/ethnic groups, large CPS-versus-rest-of-state gaps disappear, and some CPS groups outperform their counterparts [~M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Within every CPS race/ethnicity group, young men graduated from high school at a lower rate than young women of the same race/ethnicity [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Within fight pairs, Black and poor students are punished more harshly than the opponents they fight [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Within QR placement categories, White and Asian students earned significantly more first-year units than Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino students, with gaps most pronounced in Category IV [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• YOUmedia attracts between 350 and 500 teens weekly, with African American males the largest single demographic group [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Dominican children report higher school belonging than all other ethnic groups, and all ethnic-minority groups report higher centrality than European Americans [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Perceived group status mediates the ethnic differences in academic anxiety for African-American, Chinese, and Dominican children but not Russians [~M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Positive ethnic-racial affect is usually promotive but was linked to declining academic adjustment for Latino early adolescents in one study [~M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Ethnicity moderates several social-functioning–academic relationships, which are stronger for African American than Caucasian children [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Family income and race/ethnicity were associated with occupational therapy intensity, with higher-income children receiving more intensive OT [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Impacts of the DC reforms on NAEP math scores were largest for Black students [+W]
• The attitude-achievement paradox: disadvantaged minority youth may show low achievement despite high motivation to achieve upward mobility through schooling [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Belonging mediates the relationship between racial/ethnic identity and both academic achievement and emotional symptoms [+M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• The review reports that a brief values-affirmation writing assignment raised Black students' semester grades, narrowing the Black-White achievement gap [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• The review reports that jigsaw classrooms produced gains in self-esteem, interpersonal attraction, empathy, and minority academic achievement without cost to majority students [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Shallow multiculturalism undermines Latinx students' belonging by reinforcing intersectional invisibility [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Minoritized students reported lower belonging where peers endorsed more fixed mindset beliefs, with an asymmetric pattern [~M] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Active learning in an entry-level biology course closed performance gaps between underrepresented and non-underrepresented minority students and increased all students' self-efficacy [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Utility-value interventions improve grades, with the largest gains for first-generation and underrepresented minority students, and can improve STEM persistence years later [+W] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Demographics predict school belonging: girls, urban youth, immigrants, and high-SES youth report higher belonging, while achievement is trivially related [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• Indigenous youth and low-achieving, low-SES youth are at elevated NEET risk; school-average SES is protective [+W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause
• The belonging-NEET association does not vary by achievement, gender, SES, place, Indigenous/immigrant status, or cohort [-W] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Mediation of the intervention's effect via teacher expectations approached significance only for African American students [~M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Observed teacher expectations and developmental appropriateness were more strongly associated with mathematics achievement for African American than non-African American preschoolers [+M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• The intervention raised observed teacher confidence and enthusiasm, with partial mediation via this dimension for African American students only, though the group difference was not significant [-M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Neither URM status nor first-generation status moderates the intervention effects on retrieval practice outcomes [-M] — an instructional effect differs by group
• Preschool teachers' perceptions of children's academic abilities were not associated with child gender or race/ethnicity [-W] — outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause

The evidence by question

• For whom: does it narrow gaps for underrepresented and low-income students? Active learning narrows achievement gaps for disadvantaged and underrepresented students [+S]
• Do restorative practices narrow racial and ethnic gaps in discipline and achievement? Shifting to restorative practices reduced exclusionary discipline and its racial disparities while improving climate and achievement [+M]

Related Learner Variables

• Socioeconomic Status
• Belonging
• English-Learner Status

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	learner-variable
id	race-and-ethnicity
title	Race and Ethnicity
description	A learner's racial or ethnic group as recorded in research and administrative data, used to describe gaps in opportunity and outcomes and to test whether an instructional effect differs across groups.
status	review
canonical	True
generated	by claude/unspecified on 2026-10-15
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content

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