Mathematics Scan
Category: Teacher and Leader Development
Ethnic Studies is a culturally relevant curriculum designed to address the instructional needs of an increasingly diverse student population. However, evidence regarding its effectiveness at scale remains limited. This study evaluates the impact of district-wide implementation using a student-level difference-in-differences design with two-way fixed effects. We find that enrollment increases overall GPA by 0.17 points (0.24 SD), with the largest gains observed in Math and Science, and reduces course failure by 5.6 percentage points (0.14 SD). These benefits extend to all student groups, with stronger effects among academically vulnerable, male, Black and Latine students, and those with individualized education plans. Our findings suggest that well-implemented Ethnic Studies can be scaled effectively and has the potential to reduce disparities in student outcomes.
Keywords
Ethnic Studies, Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, High School
Education level
Document Object Identifier (DOI)
10.26300/91xt-7b81
