First Impressions Matter: Evidence from Elementary School Teachers

We study the empirical relevance of first impressions in the context of education. We find that teachers who begin their careers in classrooms with large White-Black incoming score differentials carry negative views into evaluations of future cohorts of Black students relative to their White classmates. Our evidence is based on novel data on blind-scored evaluations and nonblind public school teacher assessments of fourth- and fifth-graders in North Carolina. Teachers' perceptions are particularly sensitive to early classrooms with relatively low-performing Black students, but not to those with relatively high-performing Black students. Since teacher expectations can shape grading patterns and sorting into academic tracks, as well as students' own beliefs and behaviors, these findings suggest an important link between specific teachers' novice experiences and the persistence of racial gaps in educational attainment and achievement.

Duke Scholars

Author Marcos A. Rangel Sanford School of Public Policy