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 ϭ 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.
Educational Impact and Implications StatementTeacher-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.
Postsecondary education has become increasingly important as the gap in earnings between high school and college graduates continues to widen (Pew Research Center, 2014). Census Bureau data indicate that 88% college graduates and 77% of those with some college were employed, as compared with 69% of high school graduates (McFarland et al., 2017). Although postsecondary education outcomes have generally improved for students with disabilities as a whole, progress has not been consistent across disability, racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic subpopulations (Newman et al., 2011). These differential outcomes are particularly apparent for a growing sector of the U.S. school population: those who are dually identified as English learner (EL) students with disabilities. Many of these students face multiple barriers to postsecondary success, including those associated with disability intertwined with challenges linked to language and literacy development (Klingner, Artiles, & Barletta, 2006), structural barriers associated with individual-and community-level discrimination and poverty, and diminished access to high performing, resourced schools (Samson & Lesaux, 2015). To help address some of these barriers, researchers have focused on identifying the secondary transition practices and predictors related to improved postschool success (e.g.
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