The Black-White Gap in Noncognitive Skills among Elementary School Children
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 13,
no. 1, January 2021
(pp. 105-32)
Abstract
Using two nationally representative datasets, we find large differences between Black and White children in teacher-reported measures of noncognitive skills. We show that teacher reports understate true Black-White skill gaps because of reference bias: teachers appear to rate children relative to others in the same school, and Black students have lower-skilled classmates on average than do White students. We pursue three approaches to addressing these reference biases. Each approach nearly doubles the estimated Black-White gaps in noncognitive skills, to roughly 0.9 standard deviations in third grade.Citation
Elder, Todd, and Yuqing Zhou. 2021. "The Black-White Gap in Noncognitive Skills among Elementary School Children." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 13 (1): 105-32. DOI: 10.1257/app.20180732Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I21 Analysis of Education
- I26 Returns to Education
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
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