Teachers’ perceptions of students’ executive functions: Disparities by gender, ethnicity, and ELL status

Abstract

Teacher-report is commonly used to assess executive functions (EFs) in schools, but teachers’ perceptions of EF skills may be biased by students’ demographic characteristics. In this short-term longitudinal study, we assessed whether students’ gender, ethnicity, and English language learner (ELL) status predicted teachers’ reports of students’ EFs, beyond what would be expected based on direct assessment of EFs. In addition, we tested whether these associations changed between the fall and spring. Data were drawn from a school-based study of third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students (N = 558, 33 classrooms, 8 schools) in which students’ EFs were measured using direct assessments and teacher reports in the fall and spring. Using path analysis to control for the contribution of the direct assessment of EFs, we found systematic gender, ethnic, and ELL status disparities in teachers’ reports of students’ EFs. Moreover, these disparities did not change between the fall and spring. Given increased interest in incorporating teachers’ report of students’ EF skills into student report cards and school accountability indices, researchers and practitioners should further investigate and address the potential for systematic disparities in teachers’ reports of EFs. (APA PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)

Impact Statement Educational Impact and Implications Statement—Teacher-report is widely used to measure executive functions (EFs) and related self-regulated behavior in schools, yet it is unknown whether teachers’ reports of EFs are biased by students’ demographic characteristics. This study found evidence that teachers viewed boys, African Americans, and students with limited English proficiency as having worse EFs than girls, White students, and English dominant students, respectively, beyond what would be expected based on a direct assessment of their EFs. Given the importance of teachers’ perceptions for later academic achievement, these findings suggest that teachers’ perceptions of students’ EFs may contribute to persistent disparities in academic and behavioral outcomes. Researchers and practitioners should further investigate and address the sources and consequences of systematic disparities in teachers’ perceptions of students’ EFs. (APA PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)