Unveiling Racism: A Systematic Review of Survey Measures of Racism in Education

Education policy research aimed at eliminating racism necessitates methodological innovation that fosters both racial equity–centered approaches and robust empirical analysis of the systemic and structural nature of racism. Most quantitative research in educational psychology does not account for racism in its modeling, thereby obscuring the racialized environments in which students learn (DeCuir-Gunby & Schutz, 2014; Strunk & Andrzejewski, 2023). Drawing from Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and the ethos of QuantCrit, this study evaluates various scales to highlight gaps and challenges in measuring racism within school settings. This review aims to uplift measures for researchers to use in their work and advocate for more targeted resources and reparations. Reviewing 66 studies and 50 unique scales, key findings include the overreliance on scales designed to measure racial discrimination at the intrapersonal level, while systemic and structural factors are often overlooked. Most measures were self-report surveys for older students developed more than 15 years ago. The results demonstrate the need to move beyond measures of intrapersonal racism to more up-to-date, multidimensional tools. The study’s findings also underscore the necessity of constant reevaluation of the tools so they keep pace with the shifting cultural realities of how racism operates, and the specific ways it impacts racially minoritized communities. As racism continues to evolve, so too must the methods by which it is measured.