An Investigation of Bias in Preservice Teachers' Interpretations of Students' Reading Scores

• In Event: 72.048 - Roundtable Session 33
  In Roundtable Session: 72.048-5 - Preservice Teachers' Perceptions of Literacy Instruction

Abstract

This study addressed: (a) to what extent are pre-service teachers biased in rating students’ achievement based on demographic factors: race, gender, socioeconomic status, and depicted vocabulary and reading performance levels? (b) To what extent participant characteristics influence bias, and (c) which teacher characteristics appear to influence observed rating bias? The 144 pre-service teacher participants evaluated 24 counterbalanced, graphical vignettes of pseudo-students’ reading scores, which differed across student profiles. Results revealed biased ratings of students’ reading capabilities based on gender and race; also, judgments differed by SES and performance level. Participants rated the reading skills of white boys most favorably. With a few exceptions, pre-service teachers showed notable negative bias against white girls and black boys.

Authors

• Novell E. Tani, Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University

• Cheron Davis, Florida A&M University