Discrimination in track recommendation but not in grading : experimental evidence among primary school teachers in Hungary

Abstract

This study examines discrimination in teacher assessments and track recommendations against Roma minority students in Hungary. We conducted a pre-registered randomized experiment among 413 primary school teachers. Participating teachers evaluated six mathematics or literacy and grammar tests with fictitious, randomized student names and recommended a high school track. Our results show mixed evidence for discrimination against Roma students: teachers do not discriminate in test evaluations but do so in high school track recommendations, though this latter effect is small. We find that contextual factors play a substantial role in discrimination in track recommendations: teachers who receive tests with fewer Roma than non-Roma names discriminate against Roma students, whereas teachers who receive tests with more Roma names do not. In the latter case, non-Roma students receive similarly low track recommendations as Roma students in both experimental conditions. The results are consistent with stereotype-based theories of discrimination.