Black is suspendable

A new study in Psychological Science investigates the role of racial bias in educators, Julia Lurie reports for Mother Jones. Stanford researchers designed a study in which K-12 teachers were presented with mocked-up disciplinary records showing a student who'd misbehaved twice. Both infractions were minor: One for insubordination, the other for class disturbance. Record substance never changed, but some bore stereotypically black names (Darnell or Deshawn), while others had stereotypically white names (Jake or Greg). Teachers answered a series of questions about how troubled they were by the infractions, how severe discipline should be, and the likelihood that the student was "a troublemaker." Teachers' responses after the first infraction were about equal, but after hearing about the second infraction, a gap emerged: On a scale of one to seven, teachers rated severity of discipline at over five for "black" students, compared to four for "white" students. On a one-to-seven scale, a single point is a 14-percent increase -- of considerable statistical significance. A follow-up experiment took the questioning further, finding teachers were more likely to judge students perceived to be black as engaging in patterns of misbehavior, and could "imagine themselves suspending the student at some point in the future." More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

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