Stereotype threat is the apprehension individuals experience when confronted with a personally relevant stereotype that threatens their social identity or self-esteem. This phenomenon could help explain group differences in performance on standardized tests and in school.

We propose to compare the impacts of two similar but theoretically distinct stereotype threat–reduction interventions: a self-affirmation intervention and a group boundary–blurring intervention. We'll compare these to a neutral control group condition on the grades and test scores of 2,500 middle-school students in the Madison, Wis. Metropolitan School District.

With recent National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results identifying Wisconsin’s achievement gaps as among the largest in the nation, the proposed work will have a potentially significant impact on education policy and practice in the state. Moreover, these cost-effective intervention strategies—each involving simple 15-minute writing exercises—could easily be replicated and implemented across the United States, with the potential to help close the persistent achievement gaps within other school systems across the country.

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