Black-White Test Score Gap Research Articles

The Effect of School Poverty on Racial Gaps in Test Scores: The Case of the Minnesota Basic Standards Tests

Using data from 1996, 1998, and 1999 Minnesota comprehensive statewide testing of eighth graders, we examine whether Black students perform worse than White students because Blacks are more likely to attend high-poverty schools. We find the impacts of poverty on Black students' test scores are miniscule. The results decompose aggregate racial gaps in test scores between portions due to unequal endowments-including differences in poverty rates-and unequal impacts that these endowments have on test scores. Ultimately, poverty or other characteristics of students, their schools or the programs in which they participate explain little of the test score gap. We conclude that much of the Black-White test score gap can be attributed to racial differences in treatment. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether poverty explains racial differences in test scores. The urgency of exploring this issue is reinforced by the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 legislation (PL 197-110). One practical application of the act is to create greater accountability among schools throughout the nation. Persistent achievement gaps-based on race or other indicators-will now signal schools that are failing. Students in schools will have the option of transferring to other, better performing schools. Failing schools may lose students and possibly public support. Succeeding schools may fear the influx of hoards of students from schools. Thus, districts across the nation will want to know with greater specificity what can be done to reduce the racial gaps in student performance so that they can avoid the costly label failing school and avert the likely crisis of students fleeing the district. An example of the widely held belief that the poor performance of African Americans in inner-city public districts is due to poverty can be found in Minnesota policy debates. In the spring of 1997, Minnesotans were bombarded with press accounts documenting the poor achievement of many students on the Minnesota Basic Standards Test administered to all eighth graders in the state's public schools in 1996 and again in 1997. Reports of the 1996 results revealed wide racial and economic disparities in performance and significant disparities across jurisdictions. These accounts, and the public commentary surrounding them, often attributed racial disparities in test scores to racial differences in income or poverty of students attending particular schools. These are powerful attributions principally because public funds in Minnesota are allocated in part by formulae that take into account the poverty of districts. Poorer districts, by state law, receive larger supplemental allocations of public dollars (Hoxby, 2001). Although the conventional wisdom is that racial differences in student performance can be explained by poverty, rejecting this wisdom invites an alternative and often more disturbing explanation-there is a race effect, or an unexplained portion of the racial gap in test scores that cannot be attributed to racial differences in characteristics of students, schools, neighborhoods, or home environment. We measure the race effects using recent test score data from Minnesota and conclude that poverty impacts are small and often statistically insignificant. Race effects dominate the results. Background It is well known that African Americans consistently score less well than Whites on standardized tests (Chubb & Loveless, 2002; Coleman et al., 1966; Grassland, 1971; Fischer et al., 1996; Jencks & Phillips, 1998; Lubienski, 2002; Maruyama, 2003; Orfield, Eaton, & The Harvard Project on School Discrimination, 1996; Phillips, Brooks-Gunn, Duncan, Klebanov, & Crane, 1998). Various explanations for these discrepancies include differences in family background (Brooks-Gunn, Klebanov, & Duncan, 1996; Ceci, 1990; Currie & Thomas, 1995; Johnson, 1993; Venezky, Kaestle, & Sum, 1987), economic resources (Brooks-Gunn et al. …

The Black-White Test Score Gap in Young Children:Contributions of Test and Family Characteristics

This study examined Black-White test score gaps in young children. Scores from a receptive verbal test (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised [PPVT-R]) and 2 full-scale intelligence tests (Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale and Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence [WPPSI]) were examined in 2 samples: (a) the Infant Health and Development Program: 315 premature, low birth weight 3- and 5-year olds; and (b) the National Longitudinal Study of Youth-Child Supplement: 2,220 3- to 4-year-olds and 1,354 5- to 6-year-olds. Questions addressed by the study included the following: Would similar test score gaps be seen on both tests and at both ages? Would gaps be reduced by controlling for family conditions and home environment? Would similar gaps be seen for the different tests? Fifteen- to 25-point differences in Black-White test scores were seen at both ages. The addition of demographic conditions reduced the disparities to 9 to 17 points. Including home environment measures further reduced the disparities to 4 to 13 points. Test score gaps were 11/2 to 3 times larger for the PPVT-R than for the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale and the WPPSI.

Teachers' Perceptions and Expectations and the Black-White Test Score Gap

Scholars have documented that Black students enter kindergarten with weaker reading skills than their White counterparts and that this disparity sometimes persists through secondary school. This Black-White performance gap is even more evident when comparing students whose parents have equal years of schooling. This article evaluates how schools can positively affect this disparity by examining two potential sources for this difference: teachers and students. It provides evidence for the proposition that teachers' perceptions, expectations, and behaviors interact with students' beliefs, behaviors, and work habits in ways that help to perpetuate the Black-White test score gap.

The differential impact of family characteristics on the academic achievement of black and white youth

In recent years concern about the black–white test score gap has grown. Yet, little attention has been given to the differential impact black and white families might have on academic achievement. The purpose of this paper is to fill this void by examining the impact of family sociodemographic and interpersonal process characteristics on the academic achievement of black and white youth. I address two questions: (1) do black and white families parent their children differently; and (2) does the size of the impact of family traits on academic achievement differ among these adolescents. Using data from Prince George's County, Maryland, as a case study, I find that black and white families employ different parenting strategies. Also, different family characteristics influence black and white achievement. I conclude with a discussion of the implications these findings have for lessening the black–white test score gap.

Understanding the Black-White Test Score Gap in the First Two Years of School

In previous research, a substantial gap in test scores between white and black students persists, even after controlling for a wide range of observable characteristics. Using a newly available data set (the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study), we demonstrate that in stark contrast to earlier studies, the black-white test score gap among incoming kindergartners disappears when we control for a small number of covariates. Real gains by black children in recent cohorts appear to play an important role in explaining the differences between our findings and earlier research. The availability of better covariates also contributes. Over the first two years of school, however, blacks lose substantial ground relative to other races. There is suggestive evidence that differences in school quality may be an important part of the explanation. None of the other hypotheses we test to explain why blacks are losing ground receive any empirical backing.

A Closer Look at Black-White Mathematics Gaps: Intersections of Race and SES in NAEP Achievement and Instructional Practices Data

Drawing from the 1990, 1996, and 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress, this study examines Black-White disparities in 4th-, 8th-, and 12th-grade mathematics achievement and instruction. Substantial Black-White achievement gaps were identified, such as 12th-grade Black students scoring below 8th-grade White students. Furthermore, an analysis of race and SES together in the 1996 data revealed that student SES failed to account for much of the Black-White achievement gaps. Several instruction-related factors were also found to differ by race even after controlling for students' SES. This study provides evidence that, despite current reforms promoting highquality mathematics education for all, Black students of both low and high SES are being left behind. Although achievement gaps between White and Black' students narrowed in the 1970s and 1980s (Tate, 1997), these gaps now appear to be widening (Campbell, Hombo, & Mazzeo, 2000; Jencks & Phillips, 1998; Lee, 2002). Recent examinations of Black-White achievement gaps have tended to focus on students' overall school achievement and experiences. In contrast, this article focuses specifically on students' achievement and learning experiences in a subject that is used as a key gatekeeper in U.S. society: mathematics. One important tool for monitoring mathematics achievement gaps is the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAEP is the only nationally representative, ongoing assessment of academic achievement in the United States. The NAEP measures student performance at grades 4, 8, and 12 in mathematics and other subject areas. The NAEP also provides information from student and teacher questionnaires regarding mathematical backgrounds, beliefs, and instructional practices. This study uses NAEP data to examine the nature of Black-White mathematics achievement gaps, including the extent to which such gaps appear linked to student socioeconomic status (SES) differences, as measured by parent education level and literacy resources in the home.3 Given that substantial portions of the Black-White gaps were not accounted for by SES differences, the study also examines the extent to which these gaps might be related to differences in the instruction students received. Specifically, this study addresses the following questions: 1. How large were the Black-White gaps in mathematics achievement at grades 4, 8, and 12, as measured by the 1990, 1996, and 2000 NAEP? 2. To what extent were the Black-White gaps attributable to differences in students' socioeconomic status? 3. For which instruction-related variables were there Black-White differences that were not attributable to student SES differences, and, therefore, could underlie Black-White achievement gaps that persist after controlling for SES? The 1990 assessment was chosen as a starting point for examining achievement trends because it was the first assessment aligned with current mathematics education reforms (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 1989, 1991, 2000). The 2000 assessment is the most recent for which general mathematics achievement data are available. However, the 1996 NAEP data set is used to answer questions about SES in conjunction with race, because that is the most recent raw data available. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Several examinations of Black-White achievement gaps have been published recently. Perhaps the two most famous examples are Hernstein and Murray's (1994) The Bell Curve, and Jencks and Phillips' (1998) The Black-White Test Score Gap. Whereas Hernstein and Murray make the controversial claim that achievement gaps could be genetically based, Jencks and Phillips argue that achievement gaps can be closed with proper attention to issues related to schooling (e.g., class size, teacher competency requirements) and family supports. In a recent review, Lucas (2000) noted that both of these books describe statistical attempts to reveal whether Black-White achievement gaps are due to genetic or societal factors. …

Explaining the Black-White Test Score Gap: The Role of Test Perceptions

The Black-White gap in test scores on cognitive ability tests has been the subject of much research effort. This article critically evaluates the literature regarding one potential contributor to the gap: test perceptions. A model of how these perceptions affect test performance is presented, and the literature linking them to test performance and race is evaluated. Directions for future research and intervention are discussed.

Book Review of The Black-White Test Score Gap

(2000). Book Review of The Black-White Test Score Gap. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR): Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 417-421.

Hope, Anguish, and the Problem of Our Time: An Essay on Publication of the Black-White Test Score Gap

The Black-White Test Score Gap, edited by Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips, raises a series of important questions as to the cause and consequences of observed differences in measured achievement. Jencks, Phillips, and colleagues provide the most successful and sustained assessment of the claims of racial difference attributed to Herrnstein and Murray's The Bell Curve. Even so, striking similarities between the two books reveal the inability of current analyses to truly deepen our understanding of race in America.

Hope, Anguish, and the Problem of Our Time: An Essay on Publication of the Black-White Test Score Gap

The Black-White Test Score Gap, edited by Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips, raises a series of important questions as to the cause and consequences of observed differences in measured achievement. Jencks, Phillips, and colleagues provide the most successful and sustained assessment of the claims of racial difference attributed to Herrnstein and Murray's The Bell Curve. Even so, striking similarities between the two books reveal the inability of current analyses to truly deepen our understanding of race in America.

The black-white test score gap

The black-white test score gap