Could stereotype threat be a factor maintaining the achievement gap?

As school districts get their test scores back in the next few months, many of them may be wondering whether certain interventions helped them close the achievement gap. Most of these interventions take the form of intensified skill and drill, but what if a change in students’ mindset could make an even bigger impact on student outcomes?

After analyzing the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), Stanford professor Sean Reardon and his colleagues Arshan, Atteberry, and Kurlaender’s hypothesize that certain student outcomes might actually be influenced by stereotype threat.[1] In short, stereotype threat is a concern over confirming a negative stereotype about one’s group. For example, a female or African American student might be concerned that s/he may do poorly on a test because of negative stereotypes associated with his or her gender, race, or ethnicity. Reardon, et. al. found that non-white, female, and English learner students are less likely to pass the CAHSEE, a high stakes exam, but similar students had higher passing rates on the California Standards Test (CST), a low stakes exam. Reardon, et al. hypothesize that stereotype threat on the CAHSEE may lead to greater levels of stress, anxiety, and distraction, which may explain the depressed passing rates of students with similar skill on the CST exam.

Yet, how can schools and districts influence the mindset of their students? Some research suggests that interventions meant to ameliorate stereotype threat experienced by African American students are effective at closing the achievement gap.[2] For example, Cohen and colleagues introduce a relatively simple writing task that affirmed students’ own abilities. The study found that African American students that went through the writing task performed better than other similar students who experienced a writing task that affirmed others abilities. Also, the intervention did not seem to have a significant affect on the white students that went through the same exercise.

It remains to be seen whether simple interventions like Cohen and colleague’s writing task could be used school wide or district wide to positively influence students’ mindsets and boost their achievement. Regardless, students’ perceptions of their abilities seem to play a substantial role in maintaining the achievement gap, so much so, that districts and schools might want to pay attention to the psychological environments students experience in schools.

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[1] Reardon, S., Arshan, N., Atteberry, A., and Kurlaender, M. (December 2010) “Effects of Failing a High School Exit Exame on Course Taking, Achievement, Persistence, and Graduation.” Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis. V. 32, N. 4.

[2] Cohen, G.L., Garcia, J., Apfel, N., Master, A., (September 2006). “Reducing the Racial Achievement Gap: A Social-Psychological Intervention.” Science. V. 313; Cohen, G.L., Garcia, J., Purdie-Vaughns, V., Apfel, N., Brzustoski, P., (April 2009). “Recursive Processes in Self-Affirmation: Intervening to Close the Minority Achievement Gap.” Science. V. 324.