Replicating and Extending Effects of “Achievement Gap” Discourse

Abstract

Scholars argue that the “racial achievement gap” frame perpetuates deficit mindsets. Previously, we found that teachers gave lower priority to racial equity when disparities were framed as “achievement gaps” (AGs) versus “inequality in educational outcomes.” In this brief, we analyze data from two survey experiments using a teacher sample and an Amazon MTurk sample. We find that (a) the effect of AG language on equity prioritization is moderated by implicit bias, with larger negative effects among teachers holding stronger anti-Black/pro-White stereotypes; (b) the negative effect of AG language replicates with non-teachers; and (c) AG language causes respondents to express more negative racial stereotypes.