Differences in Teachers' Assessments of Students by English Learner Status

Maria Zhu

American Economic Association Papers & Proceedings, May 2024

Maria Zhu

Economics Department

Center for Policy Research

Education

United States

American Economic Association Papers & Proceedings

Maria Zhu

This paper investigates potential disparities in how teachers perceive academic achievement between English Learner (EL) students and their non-EL counterparts.

Using data on elementary and middle school students in North Carolina, I compare teachers' academic assessments of EL students to those of non-EL students in the same class with the same standardized-test-based achievement.

Results reveal that teachers hold more negative perceptions of achievement for EL students compared to academically comparable non-EL peers. These results emphasize the added difficulties experienced by EL students in academic settings, compounding the challenges they already encounter from language barriers.