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Discrimination in grading: experimental evidence from primary school teachers

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  • Maresa Sprietsma

Abstract

This paper studies the effect of teacher expectations on essay grades in an experimental setting. For this purpose, we randomly assign Turkish or German first names to a set of essays so that some teachers believe a given essay was written by a German native pupil, whereas others believe it was written by a pupil of Turkish origin. We find that the same essays obtain significantly worse grades and lower secondary school recommendations when bearing a Turkish sounding name. Copyright Springer-Verlag 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Maresa Sprietsma, 2013. "Discrimination in grading: experimental evidence from primary school teachers," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 523-538, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:45:y:2013:i:1:p:523-538
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-012-0609-x
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    3. Höckel, Lisa, 2019. "Speaking the same language - The effect of foreign origin teachers on students’ language skills," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203638, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. Jean-Baptiste Vilain, 2018. "Three essays in applied economics," Sciences Po publications info:hdl:2441/64devegb4f8, Sciences Po.
    5. Raisa Akifyeva & Alisa Alieva, 2016. "The Influence of Ethnicity on Teacher Expectations and Teacher Perceptions of Student Warmth and Competence," HSE Working papers WP BRP 65/PSY/2016, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    6. Sajons, Christoph & Clots-Figueras, Irma, 2014. "Birthright citizenship and education - Do immigrant children need a passport to thrive?," VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy 100470, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    7. Rangvid Beatrice Schindler, 2019. "Gender Discrimination in Exam Grading? Double Evidence from a Natural Experiment and a Field Experiment," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 19(2), pages 1-23, April.
    8. Maria Zumbuehl & Nihal Chehber & Rik Dillingh, 2022. "Can skill differences explain the gap in the track recommendation by socio-economic status?," CPB Discussion Paper 439, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    9. Jean-Baptiste Vilain, 2018. "Three essays in applied economics [Trois essais en économie appliquée]," SciencePo Working papers Main tel-03419493, HAL.
    10. Tsai, Yung-Yu, 2022. "Does undue preference lead to unfairness? The impact of teacher favoritism on teacher treatment and student achievement," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    11. Jansson, Joakim & Tyrefors, Björn, 2018. "Gender Grading Bias at Stockholm University: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from an Anonymous Grading Reform," Working Paper Series 1226, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    12. Chowdhury, Shyamal & Klauzner, Ilya & Slonim, Robert, 2020. "What's in a Name? Does Racial or Gender Discrimination in Marking Exist?," IZA Discussion Papers 13890, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Carol, Sarah & Kuipers, Coco & Koesling, Philipp & Kaspers, Milan, 2021. "Ethnic and Religious Discrimination in the Wedding Venue Business: Evidence from Two Field Experiments in Germany and Austria," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue Advance A, pages 1-1.
    14. Rangvid, Beatrice Schindler, 2015. "Systematic differences across evaluation schemes and educational choice," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 41-55.
    15. Andersland, Leroy, 2017. "The Extent of Bias in Grading," Working Papers in Economics 10/17, University of Bergen, Department of Economics.
    16. Parashari, S., 2019. "Teacher discrimination in occupational expectations and grading," ISS Working Papers - General Series 640, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    17. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/64devegb4f8l7a342ageb19ehc is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Oliver Himmler & Robert Jäckle, 2018. "Literacy and the Migrant–Native Wage Gap," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 64(3), pages 592-625, September.
    19. Jens Ruhose, 2015. "Microeconometric Analyses on Economic Consequences of Selective Migration," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 61.
    20. Nathalie Greenan & Joseph Lanfranchi & Yannick L'Horty & Mathieu Narcy & Guillaume Pierne, 2019. "L'analyse des données de concours au regard des discriminations à l'entrée dans la Fonction Publique d’État," Working Papers halshs-02149277, HAL.
    21. Carol, Sarah & Schulz, Benjamin, 2018. "Religiosity as a bridge or barrier to immigrant children’s educational achievement?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 55, pages 75-88.
    22. Bjorn Tyrefors Hinnerich & Erik H�glin & Magnus Johannesson, 2015. "Discrimination against students with foreign backgrounds: evidence from grading in Swedish public high schools," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(6), pages 660-676, December.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Discrimination; Migrant background; Grading; Field experiment; I20; I24; C93;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments

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