Shared Identities: Investigating Impacts of Demographic Representation for Students of Color in Middle School and High School Math Courses

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Understanding Teacher Perceptions and the Impacts of Exposure

Abstract

We consider how having a teacher of the same race and ethnicity in math courses, long-regarded as the primary STEM gatekeeping courses, affects students short- and long-run academic trajectories in math and STEM from 8th grade to postsecondary. Using the Texas statewide longitudinal data system, which links administrative data from the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, we track students through postsecondary institutions through 2021. We use a fixed effects approach consistent with prior research. Our findings suggest that Latinx and Black students benefit from having a race and ethnicity congruent math teacher both directly in said math course but also via more distal outcomes. Policy implications will be discussed.

Authors

• Jacob Kirksey, Texas Tech University

• Andras Horvath

• Elijah Hand, Texas Tech University

• Jerod Jones

• Levi Johnson, Texas Tech University