Noah Ting
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Research Mentor(s): Matthew Ronfeldt
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Educational Studies / Education
Program:
Authors: Noah Ting, Matthew Truwit, Matthew Ronfeldt
Session: Session 3: 11:00 am – 11: 50 am
Poster: 85
Abstract
Although states have implemented teacher evaluations systems, concerns have arisen around their susceptibility to racial bias. Specifically, prior research has shown that Black teachers tend to score lower on evaluations from administrators than White teachers even after accounting for value-added (another measure for teaching effectiveness), school environment, and classroom (student) makeup (Campbell, 2020). However, it remains unclear whether these differences are racially motivated or instead reflect actual differences in teaching practices. To better understand the source of these disparities, we transcribe segments of 84 lessons and apply twelve specific codes related to teachers’ use of questioning and discussion techniques based on the Danielson Framework for Teaching rubric by which teachers were evaluated. We then quantitatively analyze the trends that distinguish how students initially respond to questions posed by the most effective Black and White women teachers (for whom the disparities were the greatest). Results reveal that Black teachers’ classrooms have higher proportions of choral responses (when the majority of the class provides a simultaneous answer) than White teachers’ classrooms. Moreover, a higher proportion of choral responses is negatively associated with the evaluation scores assigned to lessons taught by Black but not White teachers. while White teachers don’t experience a statistically significant effect (the effect trends positively). This preliminary evidence identifies a potential source of bias within the teacher evaluation system that may unfairly penalize Black teachers for the way that students respond to their questions.
