September 15, 2006

Months Later, a Brief Assignment Narrows the Academic Racial Gap

By RICHARD MONASTERSKY

In a striking experiment about stereotypes and academic achievement, African-American seventh graders performed better in school months after they were asked to spend 15 minutes thinking about their identities and values.

The results of the study, published in the September 1 issue of the journal Science, demonstrate how racial stereotypes can adversely affect minority students and how simple interventions can partly counteract those stresses, say researchers.

"It shows that

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