Measures and References: Stereotype Threat

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Measures

Numerous measures exist to gain a full picture of a student's learning strengths and challenges. Following are examples of measures used to assess this Learner Factor. These measures should be administered and interpreted by experienced professionals.

_Math Diagnostic Comparisons_: Stereotype threat is typically measured by comparing a group of students vulnerable to Stereotype Threat, who take a math test and are told the test is diagnostic of their math abilities, to a group of students who are also vulnerable to Stereotype Threat and are told the test is non-diagnostic. If students in the "non-threat" group perform better than the students in the "threat" group this is evidence that Stereotype Threat has negatively influenced performance.

References

Ambady, N., Shih, M., Kim, A., & Pittinsky, T. L. (2001). Stereotype susceptibility in children: Effects of identity activation on quantitative performance. Psychological science, 12(5), 385-390.

Beilock, S. L., Rydell, R. J., & McConnell, A. R. (2007). Stereotype threat and working memory: Mechanisms, alleviation, and spillover. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 136(2), 256-276.

Copur-Gencturk, Y., Cimpian, J. R., Lubienski, S. T., & Thacker, I. (2020). Teachers' bias against the mathematical ability of female, Black, and Hispanic students. Educational Researcher, 49(1), 30-43.

Cvencek, D., Meltzoff, A. N., & Greenwald, A. G. (2011). Math-gender stereotypes in elementary school children. Child Development, 82(3), 766-779.

Galdi, S., Cadinu, M., & Tomasetto, C. (2014). The roots of stereotype threat: When automatic associations disrupt girls' math performance. Child development, 85(1), 250-263.

Lummis, M., & Stevenson, H.W. (1990). Gender differences in beliefs and achievement: A cross-cultural study. Developmental Psychology, 26, 254-263.

Maloney, E. A., Schaeffer, M. W., & Beilock, S. L. (2013). Mathematics anxiety and stereotype threat: shared mechanisms, negative consequences and promising interventions. Research in Mathematics Education, 15(2), 115-128.

McKown, C., & Weinstein, R.S. (2003). The development and consequences of stereotype-consciousness in middle childhood. Child Development, 74, 498-515.

Nosek, B. A., Smyth, F. L., Sriram, N., Lindner, N. M., Devos, T., Ayala, A., ... & Kesebir, S. (2009). National differences in gender-science stereotypes predict national sex differences in science and math achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(26), 10593-10597.

Pinnow, R. J., & Chval, K. B. (2015). "How much you wanna bet?": Examining the role of positioning in the development of L2 learner interactional competencies in the content classroom. Linguistics and Education, 30, 1-11.

Schmader, T. (2010). Stereotype threat deconstructed. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19(1), 14-18.

Shenouda, C. K., & Danovitch, J. H. (2014). Effects of gender stereotypes and stereotype threat on children's performance on a spatial task. Revue internationale de psychologie sociale, 27(3), 53-77.

The Education Trust. (August, 2020). Social, emotional, and academic development through an equity lens. Washington, DC.

Wasserberg, M. J. (2014). Stereotype threat effects on African American children in an urban elementary school. The Journal of Experimental Education, 82(4), 502-517.