Comparing Teacher and External Assessments: Are Boys, Immigrants, and Poorer Students Undergraded?

Abstract

In this paper, we study the presence of systematic differences between teacher non-blind assessments and external quasi-blindly graded standardized tests as a measure of grading bias. We use a rich administrative database covering two cohorts from publicly-funded schools in the Basque Country (Spain). We find that systematic underassessment exists for boys, children with immigrant origin, and poorer students. The observed data patterns indicate that stereotyping is a consistent mechanism through which our findings can be interpreted.

Keywords: Teacher Bias; Gender; Immigration; Achievement Inequality; Education

JEL Classification: I21, I24, J15, J16