Do Students Discriminate? Exploring Differentials by Race and Sex in Class Enrollments and Student Ratings of Instructors

Abstract

This paper explores differentials in student ratings of instructors (SRIs) by both race (white and nonwhite) and sex (male and female), taking into account not only the race and sex of class instructors but also the race-sex percentage composition of their enrolled students. Our dataset is by far the largest in the literature to date and includes all course evaluations over Academic Years 2006–2012 at Occidental College, a selective liberal arts institution with relatively high levels of diversity by race and sex of both students and faculty. We examine the data with multilevel mixed-effects linear and ordered probit regression specifications that include an extensive set of non-demographic control variables. Our findings include evidence that is consistent with the existence of bias on the part of white students.