The authors of the study say understanding how TA race influences student outcomes is particularly relevant in light of the “dramatic shift” in the racial composition of college students in the United States.
“Understanding how TA race influences student outcomes is particularly important given recent trends in the US,” states the paper, titled “TAs Like Me: Racial Interactions between Graduate Teaching Assistants and Undergraduates.” The paper notes that, whereas 82 percent of undergraduates in 1976 were White, in 2013 only 57 percent of all undergraduates were White.
The paper—released Monday through the National Bureau of Economic Research—was written by economics professors Lester Lusher and Scott Carrell, both of UC Davis, and Doug Campbell, of the New Economic School in Moscow, Russia.
The researchers found that students were more likely to attend optional discussion sections and office hours when the TA had a similar racial background. This finding provides “direct evidence of students responding to similarly-raced TAs,” the paper states.
The researchers found that race had a stronger effect in classes where TAs had been given a copy of the exam in advance of the exam date, but not because of anything sinister.
“We interpret this result as evidence of ‘teaching to the exam,’ where TAs divulge information that is pertinent to the class’ exams if given the opportunity,” the paper states. “Students who are more likely to interact with the TAs by attending the TAs’ discussion sessions and office hours are the beneficiaries of teaching to the test.”
