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Trends in Black-White Test-Score Differentials

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  • R. M. Hauser
  • M. H. Huang

Abstract

Until the 1970s, there were few signs of change in the historic difference of one standard deviation between average ability or achievement test scores of blacks and whites in the United States. From about 1970 to the mid- to late 1980s, there was a substantial convergence of the average achievement test scores of black and white youth; however, from the mid- to late 1980s to 1992, test scores began to diverge again. Although we place the greatest weight on data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the convergence also appeared in other test series. Herrnstein and Murray's highly visible work, The Bell Curve, stands almost alone in minimizing the importance of the convergent trend. We also find a longer-term trend of convergence between the verbal abilities of blacks and whites in data from the General Social Survey (GSS), which covers adult cohorts born since 1909.

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  • R. M. Hauser & M. H. Huang, "undated". "Trends in Black-White Test-Score Differentials," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1110-96, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty.
    • Handle: RePEc:wop:wispod:1110-96
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    File URL: http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/dps/pdfs/dp111096.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Neal, Derek A & Johnson, William R, 1996. "The Role of Premarket Factors in Black-White Wage Differences," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(5), pages 869-895, October.
    2. Sanders Korenman & Christopher Winship, 1995. "A Reanalysis of The Bell Curve," NBER Working Papers 5230, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Heckman, James J, 1995. "Lessons from the Bell Curve," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(5), pages 1091-1120, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Patrick Mason, 1997. "Race, culture, and skill: Interracial wage differences among African Americans, Latinos, and whites," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 25(3), pages 5-39, March.
    2. Haile, Getinet & Nguyen, Ngoc Anh, 2007. "Determinants of Academic Attainment in the US: a Quantile regression analysis of test scores," MPRA Paper 4626, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Mason, Patrick L., 1997. "Race, culture, and skill: interracial wage differentials among African Americans, Latinos, and whites," MPRA Paper 11329, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Harry J. Holzer & Paul Offner & Elaine Sorensen, 2005. "Declining employment among young black less-educated men: The role of incarceration and child support," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(2), pages 329-350.
    5. Getinet Astatike Haile & Anh Ngoc Nguyen, 2007. "Determinants of academic attainment in the United States: A quantile regression analysis of test scores," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 29-57.
    6. Eric A. Hanushek, "undated". "The Evidence on Class Size," Wallis Working Papers WP10, University of Rochester - Wallis Institute of Political Economy.
    7. Eric A. Hanushek & Julie A. Somers, 1999. "Schooling, Inequality, and the Impact of Government," NBER Working Papers 7450, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. María Aguerri & María Galibert & Horacio Attorresi & Pedro Prieto Marañón, 2009. "Erroneous detection of nonuniform DIF using the Breslow-Day test in a short test," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 35-44, January.

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