Computational Mathematical Abilities of African American Girls

Author(s): Hae-Seong Park and Scott Bauer

Source: Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Nov., 1999), pp. 204-215
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2645848
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 COMPUTATIONAL
MATHEMATICAL ABILITIES
OF AFRICAN AMERICAN GIRLS
HAE-SEONG PARK
SCOTT BAUER
Universityof New Orleans

The role of ethnicity in predicting students' academic perfor-

mance continues to attract attention from scholars and policy mak-
ers. One reason for the continued interest in whether there is a racial
gap in mathematical performance relates to minorities' underrepre-
sentation in highly technical professions (Campbell, 1989; Grandy,
1994). The underrepresentation of minorities in mathematics-
related careers is believed to have a close relationship to their low
academic achievement in mathematics (Campbell, 1989; Maxwell,
1994). However, when racial differences are investigated without
taking socioeconomic status (SES) into consideration, there is a
likelihood that race and SES are confounded (Kohr, Masters,
Coldiron, Blust, & Skiffington, 1989). This is reflected by a dispro-
portionate number of minority group members who are low in SES
and, similarly, a disproportionate number of majority group mem-
bers who are high in SES. The end result of ignoring SES when
comparing the behavior of Caucasians and African Americans can
be the unintentional comparison of economically advantaged Cau-
casian students with economically disadvantaged African Ameri-
can students. Thus, a simple comparison based on the number of
majority and the number of minority of the science and engineering
workforce (e.g., African Americans accounted for about 2% of all
employed scientists and engineers) (Campbell, 1989) can certainly
lead to misconceptions about racial differences. To respond more
properly to the racial difference questions, the racial gaps on
mathematics performance were examined after subjects were

JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES, Vol. 30 No. 2, November 1999 204-215

C 1999 Sage Publications,Inc.

204
 Park, Bauer / COMPUTATIONAL MATHEMATICAL ABILITIES 205

controlled by a matching variable (i.e., mathematical ability) in this

study. Why did we use mathematical ability as a matching variable
instead of SES?
Most research concerning racial differences in mathematical
ability among elementary school students has been performed on
samples of average-level students who represent all elementary
school children. If one of the driving motivations for studying racial
differences relates to promoting more equal representation in sci-
entific and technical jobs, though, we might question whether this
is the most effective approach. Do average students represent the
most likely group to becomejob holders in highly technical, profes-
sional occupations? What portion of current elementary school
children will become college students? It has been argued that
high-ability students represent the most likely pool of future job
holders in highly technical occupations (Burkam, Lee, & Smerdon,
1997; Hedges & Nowell, 1995; Park, Bauer, .& Sullivan, 1998).
In education, concerns for equity in mathematics tend to follow
lines of race or gender with the covert assumption that all the Cau-
casians are men and all the African Americans are women (Camp-
bell, 1989). It has been argued that, when race and sex are not con-
sidered together, misinterpretations of the research on affect and
mathematics are also likely to occur. For instance, inconsistent
racial differences are often found across gender (Backman, 1979;
Newcombe, Dubas, & Baenninger, 1989; Park & Norton, 1994).
When racial differences were detected, greater magnitudes of dif-
ferences were found in men than in women (Park & Norton, 1994).
Based on the issues discussed above, the following research
questions were developed:

Research Question 1: Are there racial differences in mathematics per-

formance among the highest performing group of elementary
school students?
Research Question 2: If there are racial differences, in which subskill
area-computation or concepts and applications-do the differ-
ences show up?
Research Question 3: If a pattern of racial differences is found, is it
consistent across girls and boys?
206 JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / NOVEMBER 1999

METHODOLOGY

SAMPLE

This study used data from the 1996 California Achievement Test
(CAT) in Louisiana. The CAT is a statewide norm-referenced test
that is administered to all Louisiana public school children in
Grades 4 and 6. For the purpose of this project, the CAT database
was restricted to fourth- and sixth-grade students identified as
being in the top 5% of mathematics performance. Thus, students
who scored at or above the 95th percentile in the mathematics total
battery based on the national norm were considered to be among
the top 5%. The sample includes only African American and Cau-
casian students because they make up more than 97% of the public
school population. For this study, 842 fourth-grade students were
identified as African Americans and 3,828 were identified as Cau-
casians, whereas 355 sixth-grade students were classified as Afri-
can Americans and 2,187 were classified as Caucasians.

INSTRUMENTATION

The CAT consists of three major content areas and three minor
content areas. The major content areas are reading, language, and
mathematics, whereas the minor subjects are study skills, science,
and social studies. Mathematics includes 44 items for mathematics
computations (COMPUT) and 50 items for mathematics concepts
and applications (CONCPT). Reliability scores for these scales
were quite robust: For Grade 4, K-R 20s for COMPUT and
CONCPT were .90 and .89, respectively, and for Grade 6, K-R 20
was .92 for COMPUT and .90 for CONCPT.

Variables

Based on the related literature, two independent variables, race

and gender, were included in this project. The value of race was
restricted to only African Americans and Caucasians. Two mea-
sures of students' mathematics performance were considered as the
dependent variables: COMPUT is the scale score for the first
 Park, Bauer / COMPUTATIONAL MATHEMATICAL ABILITIES 207

portion of the 1996 CAT mathematics test, and the scale ranges
from 0 to 999. CONCPT is the scale score for the second portion of
the 1996 CAT mathematics test, and it too ranges from 0 to 999
(Louisiana Department of Education, 1995).

Analytic Strategy

Data analysis was directed at explicating the racial differences

among students performing in the top 5% in terms of mathematical
ability. In particular, this project was concerned with three issues:
(a) Whether there are racial differences among the highest perform-
ing group of students in mathematics performance in elementary
school, (b) whether the racial differences are consistent across the
subskill areas-COMPUT and CONCPT, and (c) whether the pat-
tern of racial differences is consistent across gender.
The techniques of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA)
and univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) were employed to
address these questions (Stevens, 1996). To determine the magni-
tude of racial difference (i.e., effect size of race) on mathematics
performance, mean difference and Wilks's lambda (X) were used.

RESULTS

Regarding Research Question 1, the results of the MANOVA

showed that race had a significant effect on the mathematics per-
formance of high-performing students in Grades 4 and 6, F(2,
4656) = 98.24, p < 0.0001, F(2, 2536) = 32.17, p < 0.0001, respec-
tively. There are statistically significant racial differences among
the students sampled on overall mathematics performance for both
Grades 4 and 6. Also, significant main effects of gender for Grades
4 and 6 were found, F(2, 4656) = 12.77, p < 0.0001; F(2, 2536) =
16.06, p < 0.0001. However, no interaction effects of race and gen-
der were showed for both Grades 4 and 6 (see Tables 1 and 2).
With regard to Research Question 2, the results of the ANOVA
showed that all main effects of race and gender were statistically
significant (see Tables 3 and 4). However, there are inconsistent
patterns of racial difference across the two subskill areas. Table 5
208 JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / NOVEMBER 1999

TABLE 1
Multivariate Wilks's Lambda Test for Mathematics Ability
by Ethnicity and Gender Effects, for Grade 4

Effect Value (X) F p <

Ethnicity .9595 98.24 .0001 *

Gender .9945 12.77 .0001 *
Ethnicity by Gender .9999 0.21 .8094

NOTE: df = 2, n = 4,656.
*Probability is statistically significant.

TABLE 2
Multivariate Wilks's Lambda Test for Mathematics Ability
by Ethnicity and Gender Effects, for Grade 6

Effect Value (X) F p <

Ethnicity .9752 32.17 .0001 *

Gender .9874 16.06 .0001 *
Ethnicity by Gender .9992 0.89 .4098

NOTE: df= 2, n = 2,536.

*Probability is statistically significant.

shows that African Americans outperform Caucasians in

COMPUT. However, Caucasians outperform African Americans
in CONCPT. A similar, inconsistent pattern was also detected
among high-performing students in Grade 6. The magnitude of dif-
ferences (13.08 and 9.97) of CONCPT in fourth- and sixth-grade
students are greater than those of COMPUT (6.30 and 5.53). It
should be noted that the magnitude of difference (13.08) among
Grade 4 students in CONCPT was .53 standard deviation unit.
Regarding Research Question 3, the results of the MANOVA
showed that there are no interaction effects of gender by ethnicity
for Grades 4 and 6, Wilks's lambda (X) = .999, F(2,4656) = .21, p <
0.80, Wilks's lambda (X) = .999, F(2, 2536) = .89, p < 0.40, respec-
tively. The pattern of racial differences is consistent across gender.
Univariate F tests for Grades 4 and 6 showed no interaction effects
in COMPUT and CONCPT.
 Park, Bauer / COMPUTATIONAL MATHEMATICAL ABILITIES 209

TABLE 3
Univariate F Tests for Grade 4

Variable SS F p <

Ethnicity effect
COMPUT 25,374 42.15 .0001 *
CONCPT 110,805 183.40 .0001 *
Gender effect
COMPUT 9,088 15.10 .0001 *
CONCPT 9,687 16.03 .0001 *
Ethnicity by gender effect
COMPUT 10 0.02 .8952
CONCPT 212 0.35 .5534

NOTE: COMPUT = mathematics computation. CONCPT = mathematics concepts and

applications. df = 1.
*Probability is statistically significant.

TABLE 4
Univariate F Tests for Grade 6

Variable SS F p <

Ethnicity effect
COMPUT 7,807 14.66 .0001 *
CONCPT 27,805 59.61 .0001 *
Gender effect
COMPUT 9,253 17.38 .0001 *
CONCPT 10,146 21.75 .0001 *
Ethnicity by gender effect
COMPUT 469 0.88 .3479
CONCPT 242 0.52 .4710

NOTE: COMPUT = mathematics computation. CONCPT = mathematics concepts and

applications. df = 1.
*Probability is statistically significant.

However, regarding the gender main effect, there were inconsis-

tent patterns across the two subskill areas. Tables 5 and 6 show that
female children performed better than males in COMPUT, whereas
male children performed better than females in CONCPT. In fact,
the magnitude of difference (6.76) among Grade 6 students in
CONCPT was .27 standard deviation unit.
210 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES/ NOVEMBER 1999

TABLE 5
Descriptive Statistics of the Scale Scores for Mathematics
Computations (COMPUT) and Understanding Mathematical
Concepts and Applications (CONCPT), for Grade 4

Standard Mean
N Mean Deviation Difference

Ethnicitydifference
COMPUT
African American 842 760.99 24.42 6.30
Caucasian 3,828 754.69 24.63
CONCPT
African American 842 762.32 24.31 13.08
Caucasian 3,828 775.40 24.69
Genderdifference
COMPUT
Girls 2,421 757.71 24.68 3.96
Boys 2,240 753.75 24.59
CONCPT
Girls 2,421 771.17 24.74 3.89
Boys 2,240 775.06 25.42

TABLE 6
Descriptive Statistics of the Scale Scores for Mathematics
Computations (COMPUT) and Understanding Mathematical
Concepts and Applications (CONCPT), for Grade 6
Standard Mean
N M~ean Deviation Difference

Ethnicitydifference
COMPUT
African American 355 820.29 23.79 5.53
Caucasian 2,187 814.76 23.08
CONCPT
African American 355 802.81 21.55 9.97
Caucasian 2,187 812.78 21.88
Genderdifference
COMPUT
Girls 1,268 817.95 23.04 4.81
Boys 1,273 813.14 23.23
CONCPT
Girls 1,268 807.99 24.74 6.76
Boys 1,273 814.75 25.42
 Park,Bauer/ COMPUTATIONALMATHEMATICALABILITIES 211

TABLE 7
Descriptive Statistics of the Scale Scores for Mathematics
Computations (COMPUT) and Understanding Mathematical
Concepts and Applications (CONCPT), by Subgroups

Standard
N Mean Deviation

Grade4
COMPUT
African Americangirls 478 762.52 24.22
African Americanboys 362 758.98 24.63
Caucasiangirls 1,943 756.52 24.66
Caucasianboys 1,878 752.74 24.46
CONCPT
African Americangirls 478 760.46 22.86
AfricanAmericanboys 362 764.80 25.97
Caucasiangirls 1,943 773.81 24.47
Caucasianboys 1,878 777.03 24.83
Grade6
COMPUT
African Americangirls 198 823.29 24.06
African Americanboys 157 816.51 22.97
Caucasiangirls 1,070 816.96 22.72
Caucasianboys 1,116 812.67 23.24
CONCPT
African Americangirls 198 800.64 21.90
African Americanboys 157 805.54 20.85
Caucasiangirls 1,070 809.34 21.09
Caucasianboys 1,116 816.04 22.11

The data in Table 7 show that African American girls were the
lowest performance group in understanding CONCPT for both
Grades 4 and 6. These results are consistent with the recent finding
of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (Anderson,
Bruschi, & Pearson, 1994), which showed minority females to be
doubly disadvantaged. Minority females trail Caucasian females in
Grade 4, and this gap increases by Grade 12. In addition, minority
females lag behind minority males by Grade 12. Less than 10% of
college-bound minority female high school students indicated that
they would choose a mathematics or science college major. The
data in this article indicate that it is possible that minority females'
disadvantage starts early with their low performance in CONCPT.
212 JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / NOVEMBER 1999

It is interesting that, just as we found that high-performing, ele-

mentary school African Americans outperform Caucasians in
COMPUT, these results show that African American girls in this
sample represent the highest performance group in COMPUT for
both Grades 4 and 6 (see Table 7). This would seem inconsistent
with earlier research and the conventional wisdom concerning
minority girls' disadvantage in the job market owing to poor mathe-
matics performance.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

In this project, the racial differences in mathematics perfor-

mance among high-achieving elementary school students were
examined. Consistent with previous research (Backman, 1979;
Dulaney & Bethune, 1995; Entwisle & Alexander, 1992; Kohr et al.,
1989), a Caucasian superiority was found in performance on test
questions measuring the understanding of CONCPT. Inconsistent
with previous findings, though, an African American superiority
was found in the COMPUT skill area.
One could conclude that top-performing African Americans
scored higher than their Caucasian counterparts in "pure" mathe-
matical ability area in this project. The applied mathematical area
(i.e., understanding CONCPT) could be related to the use of verbal
strategies in solving mathematical problems. It is possible that lan-
guage differences influence this subskill area.
There have been a plethora of factors identified as contributing to
the existence of racial gaps in academic performance, including fac-
tors relating to individual participation, cultural and social expecta-
tions, individual motivation and interest level, classroom environ-
ment, and differential teacher expectations (Burkam et al., 1997).
This might suggest that these findings reflect Caucasians' tendency
to participate in the mathematics areas, and this greater activity may
manifest itself in higher performance in understanding CONCPT.
Like so much of the research on racial differences, though, this
study raises more questions than it answers. To name but a few, are
African Americans more naturally gifted than Caucasians in
 Park, Bauer / COMPUTATIONAL MATHEMATICAL ABILITIES 213

COMPUT skills? and if so, how can this advantage be used to

equalize their representation in technical jobs or to compensate for
their disadvantage in CONCPT? Are Caucasians more naturally
gifted in COMPUT, or does their advantage relate to some other
factors such as instructional methods or teacher expectations? Are
there ways curriculum and instruction can be restructured to
enhance African Americans' performance and achievement relat-
ing to CONCPT, and if so, what impact might these have on other
groups of students?
Any attribution of the causes of the racial gaps identified in this
study would be pure speculation. The data do not afford us the lux-
ury of pinpointing any causes from among the many possibilities,
nor can we begin to answer any of the preceding questions. How-
ever, these results do point up the necessity of future research in this
area if the goal of promoting more equal representation in technical
fields is to be reached.
The results of this study show that African Americans show
some superiority in COMPUT ability, and African American girls
were the highest performance group in this category. Taken as a
whole, these findings show the need for research into why African
Americans perform relatively better than Caucasians in terms of
COMPUT skills, but relatively worse in CONCPT.
Likewise, there is a need for additional study to show the vari-
ables that influence racial difference in mathematical performance.
The results of this study are also limited by the nature of the sample
(i.e., only Louisiana students); therefore, further research using
samples from all United States students is recommended, along the
line of this study.

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Hae-Seong Parkis an assistantprofessorin the educationalleadership,counseling,

and foundations departmentin the college of education at the Universityof New
Orleans.His researchand teachingfocuses on statistics and researchmethodology.
Dr. Parkhas recentlyhad articles acceptedfor publication in Counseling Psychol-
ogy Quarterlyand Journalof Researchand Developmentin Education.
 Park, Bauer / COMPUTATIONAL MATHEMATICAL ABILITIES 215

Scott Bauer is an assistant professor in the educational leadership, counseling, and

foundations department in the College of Education at the University of New
Orleans. His research and teaching focus on the application of the principles of
organizational behavior and development to the study of school leadership, organ-
izational change, and restructuring. His research has been published most recently
in Educaitonal Planning, Journal of Research and Development in Education, and
the International Journal of Educational Reform.