Skip to main
Loading...

Story

New Research: Teachers’ First Classrooms Can Shape Racial Gaps for Years

New Duke research shows that early classroom experiences influence how teachers evaluate Black and White students long after their first year on the job.

By Matt LoJacono // March 23, 2026

Elementary school teachers rate Black students lower than White classmates who earn the same standardized test scores. And new research from Duke University suggests those differences may be shaped by what teachers see in their very first year in the classroom.

Man with glasses smiling
Marcos A. Rangel, Associate Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy

In a study published in The Journal of Human Resources, Sanford School of Public Policy professor Marcos A. Rangel and coauthor Ying Shi analyzed detailed data from North Carolina public schools. The dataset allowed them to compare teachers’ own ratings of student mastery with scores from North Carolina’s End-of-Grade exams, which are graded anonymously by machine.

A Measurable Gap in Evaluations

Even after accounting for test scores and student characteristics, teachers rated Black students about 0.06 points lower than comparable White classmates on a four-point mastery scale. That may sound small, but across thousands of students, it adds up. In practical terms, Black students were about 2.5 percentage points less likely to be subjectively rated “proficient” than White peers who performed the same on the standardized test.

“We see consistent racial gaps in how students are evaluated by relatively novice teachers, even when standardized test results indicate the same level of academic performance,” Rangel said.

Why First-Year Classrooms Matter

The researchers then asked why.

They focused on teachers’ first year in the classroom. For each novice teacher, the team examined how Black and White students performed in standardize examinations relative to one another in that initial class. They then tracked whether those early teaching experiences predicted how teachers evaluated future cohorts of students with whom they interact further along their careers.

They found a clear pattern. Teachers who began their careers in classrooms where White students substantially outperformed Black students later showed larger racial gaps in their own subjective evaluations of Black and White students. A sizable increase in the first-year achievement gap translated into a noticeably wider gap in later teacher ratings. In fact, differences in that first classroom accounted for more than half of the racial evaluation gap seen in subsequent years. 

The effects lasted. Even teachers five to seven years into their careers showed evaluation patterns linked to the racial achievement gaps present in their very first classroom.

 

“What teachers encounter at the start of their careers appears to shape expectations in ways that persist and “(mis)informs” their evaluation of scholastic performance among students of different racial background,” Rangel said.

The Role of Early Performance Patterns

This pattern was also asymmetric. When teachers’ first classrooms included lower-performing Black students who lagged far behind their White peers, harsher relative evaluations of Black students in future classes resulted. In contrast, exposure to high-performing Black students did not significantly narrow later gaps.

Importantly, because teacher evaluations can influence grading, course placement, and students’ own beliefs about their ability, the findings raise important questions for leaders.

“Early professional experiences may have longer shadows than we assume,” Rangel said. “That suggests we should think carefully about how we support teachers in those first years and how professional training related to student evaluation needs to be attentive to these intrinsic patterns of racialized perceptions.”

Key Takeaways

  • Using data from North Carolina public schools, researchers find that teachers rate Black students lower than White classmates who earn the same standardized test scores.
  • Black students are about 2.5 percentage points less likely to be labeled proficient than comparable White peers.
  • The size of the racial achievement gap in a teacher’s first classroom predicts how that teacher evaluates students years later.
  • Early exposure to lower-performing Black students widens later evaluation gaps, while exposure to high-performing Black students does not significantly reduce them.
  • The effects persist for several years, suggesting first impressions in the classroom can have lasting consequences.

 

For media inquiries, contact:
Matt LoJacono (Public Relations Manager) 
Email: matt.lojacono@duke.edu
Phone: 703-740-7871

Marcos Rangel: 
Email: marcos.rangel@duke.edu
 

 

Written by

Loading...

Matt LoJacono

Matt LoJacono is Sanford's Senior Public Relations Manager. With a focus on media relations, Matt oversees and nurtures connections between the institution and various outlets, ensuring effective communication about faculty, staff, and students. He is also responsible for crafting engaging news stories and in-depth articles that highlight the events and achievements within Sanford. As such, when the need arises, Matt is in charge of updating printed materials including the faculty guide throughout the year.

Matt holds a BA in Public Relations from George Mason University and an MS in Communication from North Carolina State University. He is an active member of the Public Relations Society of America, further expanding his and Sanford's network. Outside of work, Matt enjoys going to baseball games and is an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox.

Related