Study Finds Black Teachers Are More Likely To Support Black Students For Gifted-Education Programs

There are certain advantages when black students are being educated by black teachers. A recent study also showed that having a teacher of the same race improves students’ chances of landing in a gifted program.

The 2016 study, conducted by researchers at Vanderbilt University and Indiana University, presented that African-American public school students are 54 percent less likely to be identified as eligible for gifted-education services. This is in comparison to their white counterparts.

However, they enhance their chances if they have an African-American teacher. The study showed that black students are three times more likely to be put in a gifted program when taught by a black teacher, compared to being taught by a white teacher.

Black Teachers Have a Higher Assessment of Their Black Students

USA Today noted that previous research has revealed that there are particular benefits enjoyed by African-American students with black teachers. It was also essential that the black teachers were actually assigned to the black students, and not merely present in campus.

The new study used student-level information to determine the probability that a specific elementary school student will be recommended to a gifted education. According to Indiana University, one main reason for the improvement is that black teachers tend to provide a more positive view of the indicators of giftedness, their black students’ abilities and self-control.

Students acquire better subjective assessments of their abilities and move away from the norm. The researchers further found that black teachers were more likely to assign black students with high test scores to gifted services.

Adding More Black Teachers is Important

Researcher Sean Nicholson-Crotty said that schools should aim to increase the total number of African-American teachers, instead of merely matching teachers and students of the same race. The study, published in the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, presented that the mere presence of black teachers in school did not affect the probably of black students being referred to gifted education.

“Then you’re increasing the likelihood that students will have this in-class race match, so you’ll get these positive benefits without having to undertake this specifically and potentially erroneous policy choice,” Nicholson-Crotty said.

Past research focused on the underrepresentation of black students in gifted programs. The new study is among the first to delve into the cause of the difference.

The data for the 2016 study was taken from the federal Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, following several children from kindergarten to eighth grade. The researchers also noted factors that most likely led to assignments to gifted programs.