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Assessing Student's Achievement Gaps between Ethnic Groups in Brazil.

ABSTRACT: Achievement gaps refer to the difference in the performance on assessments of students belonging to different social groups. Achievement gaps between ethnic groups have been observed in countries with heterogeneous populations. In this paper, achievement gaps between ethnic populations in Brazil were analyzed by studying the performance of a large cohort of senior high-school students in a standardized national exam. Ethnic groups were stratified by Brazilian states and socio-economic variables to homogeneize the groups, and the analyses focused on the disciplines of mathematics and writing that involve different cognitive functions. A Welch's t-test analysis was performed and key socio-economic variables that may explain the gaps were studied. The results show that gaps between ethnic groups of students living in low-income households were either statistically insignificant or small (2- 6 % ) if statistically significant. Larger gaps however were observed for students coming from high-income families in some contexts. Although parental education was associated with higher performance, it may either increase, decrease or maintain the gaps between White and Black, and between White and Pardo students. Our results support that socio-economic variables, linked to historical developments, have an impact on student's performance irrespective of ethnic background, resulting on little to no influence on group performance when students are exposed to similar cultural and economic contexts.

SUBMITTER: Rocha LEC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6526449 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Assessing Student's Achievement Gaps between Ethnic Groups in Brazil.

Rocha Luis E C LEC Nascimento Luana de F LF

Journal of Intelligence 20190220 1

Achievement gaps refer to the difference in the performance on assessments of students belonging to different social groups. Achievement gaps between ethnic groups have been observed in countries with heterogeneous populations. In this paper, achievement gaps between ethnic populations in Brazil were analyzed by studying the performance of a large cohort of senior high-school students in a standardized national exam. Ethnic groups were stratified by Brazilian states and socio-economic variables ...[more]

PMID: 31162386

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Project description:Background:In contrast to the extensive research on socioeconomic gaps in reading and math achievement, little attention has been given to socioeconomic disparities in science skills, particularly during the early years of schooling. This emphasis on later years may be problematic because large socioeconomic disparities emerge in the early years, thus it is crucial to document the size of disparities in science achievement and begin unpacking the range of factors that contribute to these disparities. Additionally, it is crucial to know which components of socioeconomic status are more strongly linked to children's science skills so that resources can be more effectively targeted to address disparities. Using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (N?=?9250), this study examines disparities in science achievement across elementary and middle school related to parental income and parental education separating their effects from each other and from a range of confounding factors. Additionally, it considers whether characteristics of children, families, and schools are pathways through which socioeconomic disparities emerge. Results:Results show moderate gaps in science achievement related to both household income and parental education. The primary pathways through which parental education and family income influenced science achievement was through mathematics and reading achievement. For parental education gaps, smaller indirect effects also operated through access to informal science learning opportunities both inside and outside of the home environment. Conclusion:First, this study highlights the importance of considering the contributions of multiple measures of socioeconomic status, instead of a composite. Second, it shows that socioeconomic disparities in science achievement emerge early and that programs and policies aimed at addressing these gaps may need to target children during the early elementary and preschool years. Third, our findings suggest that elementary instructional approaches that simultaneously address science instruction with reading and/or mathematics instruction will likely be especially important for improving overall science outcomes.

Project description:Disparities remain in the representation of marginalized students in STEM. Classroom-based experiential learning opportunities can increase student confidence and academic success; however, the effectiveness of extending learning to outdoor settings is unknown. Our objectives were to examine (a) demographic gaps in ecology and evolutionary biology (EEB) major completion, college graduation, and GPAs for students who did and did not enroll in field courses, (b) whether under-represented demographic groups were less likely to enroll in field courses, and (c) whether under-represented demographic groups were more likely to feel increased competency in science-related tasks (hereafter, self-efficacy) after participating in field courses. We compared the relationships among academic success measures and demographic data (race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, first-generation, and gender) for UC Santa Cruz undergraduate students admitted between 2008 and 2019 who participated in field courses (N = 941 students) and who did not (N = 28,215 students). Additionally, we administered longitudinal surveys to evaluate self-efficacy gains during field-based versus classroom-based courses (N = 570 students). We found no differences in the proportion of students matriculating at the university as undecided, proposed EEB, or proposed other majors across demographic groups. However, five years later, under-represented students were significantly less likely to graduate with EEB degrees, indicating retention rather than recruitment drives disparities in representation. This retention gap is partly due to a lower rate of college completion and partly through attrition to other majors. Although under-represented students were less likely to enroll in field courses, field courses were associated with higher self-efficacy gains, higher college graduation rates, higher EEB major retention, and higher GPAs at graduation. All demographic groups experienced significant increases in self-efficacy during field-based but not lecture-based courses. Together, our findings suggest that increasing the number of field courses and actively facilitating access to students from under-represented groups can be a powerful tool for increasing STEM diversity.

Project description:BackgroundAlthough breast cancer incidence is higher in black women than in white women among women younger than 40 years, the reverse is true among those aged 40 years or older. This crossover in incidence rates between black and white ethnic groups has been well described, has not been completely understood, and has been viewed as an artifact.MethodsTo quantify this incidence rate crossover, we examined data for 440 653 women with invasive breast cancer from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database from January 1, 1975, through December 31, 2004. Data on invasive female breast cancers were stratified by race, age at diagnosis, year of diagnosis, and tumor characteristics. Standard descriptive analyses were supplemented with Poisson regression models, age-period-cohort models, and two-component mixture models. All statistical tests were two-sided.ResultsWe observed qualitative (ie, crossing or reversing) interactions between age and race. That is, age-specific incidence rates overall (expressed as number of breast cancers per 100 000 woman-years) were higher among black women (15.5) than among white women (13.1) younger than 40 years (difference = 2.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.4 to 2.4), and then, age-specific rates crossed with rates higher among white women (281.3) than among black women (239.5) aged 40 years or older (difference = 41.8, 95% CI = 41.7 to 41.9). The black-to-white incidence rate crossover was observed for all tumor characteristics assessed, although the crossover occurred at earlier ages of diagnosis for low-risk tumor characteristics than for high-risk tumor characteristics. The incidence rate crossover between ethnic groups was robust (ie, reliable and reproducible) to adjustment for calendar period and birth cohort effects in age-period-cohort models (P < .001 for difference by race).ConclusionAlthough this ecologic study cannot determine the individual-level factors responsible for the racial crossover in vital rates, it confirms that the age-related crossover in breast cancer incidence rates between black and white ethnic groups is a robust age-specific effect that is independent of period and cohort effects.

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Assessing Student's Achievement Gaps between Ethnic Groups in Brazil.

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Assessing Student's Achievement Gaps between Ethnic Groups in Brazil.

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