Curricular Redlining: Mapping Race, Gender, and Epistemic Hierarchy in New York’s Regents Exams (2010–2025)

• In Event: Following Policy to Witness the Harms of Epistemic Hierarchy

Abstract

This paper introduces The Color of Achievement, a database of 863 essential U.S. history topics drawn from the official scope and sequence and coded by race, gender, domain, and stratification hierarchy. Using multilevel logistic regression, the study examines which topics appear on New York State’s U.S. History Regents exams (2010–2025), and how identity and epistemic positioning predict inclusion. Results reveal stark patterns of curricular redlining: white, male, and technical content dominates, while topics involving racially marginalized and intersectional identities, especially in conceptual contexts, are consistently excluded. This study offers a replicable framework for assessing curricular bias, illuminating how standardized assessments reify racialized knowledge hierarchies and providing empirical grounding for more inclusive curriculum and assessment policy reform.

Author

• Tanishia Lavette Williams, Brandeis University