Bias or Empathy in Universal Screening? The Effect of Teacher–Student Racial Matching on Teacher Perceptions of Student Behavior

Abstract

This study uses linear probability models with student and teacher fixed effects to assess whether the racial match between teachers and students affects “at-risk” ratings on a teacher-completed universal screener of student internalizing and externalizing behavior. The data are from a large, urban California school district. I find that Asian and Black teachers are more likely to rate their same-race students “at-risk” for internalizing behavior compared with how the same Asian and Black students would be rated by White teachers. These findings have implications for policy and practice aimed at enhancing universal screening for externalizing and internalizing behavior.