Discrimination in grading? Evidence on teachers' evaluation bias towards minority students

Julia Bredtmann, Sebastian Otten and Christina Vonnahme

No 1122, Ruhr Economic Papers from RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen

Abstract: We analyze whether teachers discriminate against ethnic minority students in terms of grading. Using comprehensive data on students in German primary and secondary schools, we compare students' scores in standardized, anonymously graded achievement tests with non-anonymous teacher ratings within a difference-in-difference (DiD) framework. We find that, on average, minority students receive lower grades than majority students in both German and Math. However, these differences are not due to discrimination in grading against minority students. Instead, performance gaps between minority and majority students are significantly reduced when being graded by the teacher compared to being assessed through the standardized test. We provide supporting evidence that this finding cannot be explained solely by the fact that minority students face higher barriers on the standardized test due to language difficulties. Rather, our results suggest that teachers have a positive evaluation bias towards ethnic minority students.

Keywords: Immigration; discrimination; grading bias (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 I24 J15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:rwirep:311201

DOI: 10.4419/96973304

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