WHEN EXPECTATIONS WORK - RACE AND SOCIOECONOMIC DIFFERENCES IN SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

Why are expectations for future performance realized more often by some people than by others, and why are such differences in the efficacy of performance expectations socially patterned? We hypothesize that differences in attentiveness to performance feedback may be relevant, reasoning that follow-through behaviors will be less well conceived when expectations are formed without regard to evaluation of previous performance. Using data from Baltimore fourth-grade students and their parents, we find that expectations anticipate marks more accurately when recall of prior marks is correct than when it is incorrect. Because errors of recall (mostly on the high side) are more common among lower-SES and minority children and their parents, their school performance is affected most strongly. Research on school attainment processes from a motivational perspective must give more attention to the additional resources that facilitate successful goal attainment, given high expectations. Our perspective focuses on resources internal to the individual, but external constraints also are important. The discussion stresses the need for further work in both areas.