Working Paper: NBER ID: w11049
Authors: Roland G. Fryer Jr.; Steven D. Levitt
Abstract: This paper describes basic facts regarding the black-white test score gap over the first four years of school. Black children enter school substantially behind their white counterparts in reading and math, but including a small number of covariates erases the gap. Over the first four years of school, however, blacks lose substantial ground relative to other races; averaging .10 standard deviations per school year. By the end of third grade there is a large Black-White test score gap that cannot be explained by observable characteristics. Blacks are falling behind in virtually all categories of skills tested, except the most basic. None of the explanations we examine, including systematic differences in school quality across races, convincingly explain the divergent academic trajectory of Black students.
Keywords: black-white test score gap; educational achievement; early childhood longitudinal study; school quality
JEL Codes: I2
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| black students (I24) | white students in reading and math (I24) |
| covariates (C39) | black-white test score gap at kindergarten entry (I24) |
| black students (I24) | loss of ground relative to white students (I24) |
| unobserved variables (C29) | black-white test score gap (I24) |
| parental and environmental factors (J13) | black-white test score gap (I24) |
| observable characteristics (C90) | black-white test score gap (I24) |
| school quality (I21) | black-white test score gap (I24) |
| school fixed effects (C23) | black-white test score gap (I24) |