A new study led by scholars at the University of California, Irvine has found a link between enrollment in ethnic studies courses and improved overall academic performance among middle and high school students.
Using over a decade of data from the San Francisco United School District regarding more than 24,000 students from middle school through high school, the authors found that students who took a course on ethnic studies experienced an average GPA increase of 0.17 points. The inclusion of ethnic studies courses also reduced students’ likelihood of failing a class by 5.6 percent and led to a 15 percent increase in students meeting the GPA threshold for admission to the University of California system.
Notably, students who enrolled in ethnic studies saw the strongest academic gains in math and science, suggesting that studying diverse backgrounds and perspectives has a broader impact on overall academic engagement. Black and Latinx students, male students, students in special education, and students with lower prior academic performance benefited the most from ethnic studies enrollment.
“At a moment when debates about race, identity, and curriculum have intensified, our results show that [ethnic studies] coursework can foster belonging, engagement, and academic success across diverse student groups,” the authors write. “Far from being a source of division, [ethnic studies] represents a powerful tool for equity and learning, and continued investment in thoughtful, community- and research-based expansion offers a promising path forward for districts in California and beyond.”
In addition to scholars from the University of California, Irvine, the research team included authors from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Los Angeles.
