Explaining the Racial School Climate Gap: Evidence From Georgia

Research documents positive associations between school climate and student outcomes, and, as such, many policymakers have positioned it among their chief priorities for school improvement. Despite this increased focus, extant research has offered mixed findings on the presence and magnitude of racial school climate disparities. The present study uses administrative data of middle and high schools in Georgia to examine disparities in school-climate perceptions and factors predicting them. I find that Black and “Other” students consistently report worse perceptions on nearly all measures of school climate compared to White students and that these disparities persist within school. Furthermore, Black teachers moderate Black students’ climate perceptions and are critical protective factors against the risks they face in school. Implications suggest that an increased focus on school climate is unlikely to yield equitable returns absent ancillary policy and practices that improve schooling conditions influencing disparities in students’ school climate perceptions.