Working Paper: NBER ID: w11660
Authors: Thomas S. Dee
Abstract: In the United States, girls outperform boys in measures of reading achievement while generally underperforming in science and mathematics. One major class of explanations for these gaps involves the gender-based interactions between students and teachers (e.g., role-model and Pygmalion effects). However, the evidence on whether these interactions actually matter is limited and contradictory. In this study, I present new empirical evidence on whether assignment to a same-gender teacher influences student achievement, teacher perceptions of student performance, and student engagement. This study's identification strategy exploits a unique "matched pairs" feature of a major longitudinal survey. Within-student comparisons based on these data indicate that assignment to a same-gender teacher significantly improves the achievement of both girls and boys as well as teacher perceptions of student performance and student engagement with the teacher's subject. For example, assignment to a female science teacher increases the likelihood that a girl views science as useful for her future. However, because the middle-school teachers in most academic subjects are female, these results also suggest that the gender dynamics between teachers and students at this level amplify boys' large underperformance in reading while attenuating the more modest underperformance of girls in math and science.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I2
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| assignment to a same-gender teacher (I24) | achievement of both girls and boys (I24) |
| assignment to a same-gender teacher (I24) | teacher perceptions of student performance (D29) |
| assignment to a same-gender teacher (I24) | student engagement with the subject (A22) |
| assignment to a female science teacher (J16) | likelihood that a girl views science as useful for her future (I24) |
| assignment to a female teacher (J16) | test scores of boys (I24) |
| assignment to a female math teacher (C78) | achievement of girls (I24) |
| assignment to a female history teacher (Y40) | achievement of girls (I24) |
| assignment to a female teacher (J16) | teacher perceptions of boys (I24) |