Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP5661
Authors: Eleonora Patacchini; Yves Zenou
Abstract: We investigate the racial gap in test scores between white and non-white students in Britain both in levels and differences across the school years. We find that there is a substantial racial gap in test scores, especially between ages 7 and 11, and a less severe one between ages 11 and 16. It thus seems that nonwhites are losing ground at school, especially during the first five years. We then investigate the reasons behind this racial gap and its evolution. We focus on racial differences in parents' involvement in education. We find that a non-negligible part of the test score racial gap can be explained by these cultural differences. In particular, we show that if non-white parents would invest in education of their 11 year-old children as much as white parents do, then the racial test score gap in reading and mathematics would be reduced by 18.1 and 7.2 percent, respectively.
Keywords: Cultural differences; Education; Ethnic minorities; Parental involvement
JEL Codes: I21; J15; J24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Nonwhite parents' investment in education (I24) | Racial test score gap (J15) |
| Cultural differences in parenting practices (J13) | Racial test score gap (J15) |
| Parental involvement included as covariate (C29) | Unexplained portion of racial gap (J79) |
| Parental involvement (I24) | Test scores (C12) |