Student-Teacher Racial Mismatch

Student-teacher racial mismatch refers to the disconnect between teachers and students of different races, particularly when the teacher is in a majority or dominant race and the student is in a minority or subjugated race. Because more than 80 percent of teachers in the United States are non-Hispanic white, all students, regardless of race, are more frequently taught by a white teacher. While race is not necessarily a barrier between white and nonwhite or Hispanic students, racial mismatch may have an effect on instructional style, teacher expectations, student behavioral evaluations, and student academic performance. Although several studies using large national data sets have found that same-race teachers produce higher scores on standardized achievement tests, particularly in the case of black teachers of black students, there ...