Does School Socioeconomic Composition Moderate the Association Between Teachers’ Assessments of Ability and Kindergarteners’ Achievement?

• In Event: Poster Session 8
  In Poster Session: Issues in Early Childhood

Abstract

Children in poorer schools may be stigmatized and vulnerable to negative effects of teacher expectations. Using a sample of 3,272 children in 200 schools from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten cohort, we explored whether the association between teachers’ judgments of their students’ ability in math and students’ actual math achievement depended on characteristics of schools. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that the relationship between teachers’ ratings of kindergarteners and their math scores significantly varied across schools. Then, we found that average socioeconomic composition of students within a school moderated the association between teachers’ judgments and kindergarteners’ math scores, even after controlling for student demographics. Specifically, in higher poverty schools, there was a stronger association between teachers’ assessments and children’s math achievement.

Authors

• Tamarie Macon, University of Michigan

• Monica Faye Rochman, University of Michigan