Steele, and Ogbu and Treisman before him, sought an explanation for problems in minority academic achievement. Steele points to evidence that children enter school at the same level and achievement among the races progressively diverges in subsequent years. At the college freshman level, Steele found, by investigating the correlation between SAT scores and subsequent academic performance, that the achievement disparity is not a problem of skills deficit. Racial achievement gaps persist throughout the middle and upper classes.

Steele first says that sustained school success through improved achievement motivation is dependent upon being self-identified with school achievement. Anything that interferes with this self-identification can affect achievement. He admits that not much is known about how domain identification occurs and points to Ogbu’s concept of voluntary/involuntary minority as a basis for the beginning of school disidentification.

Steele then considers those who have already identified to a domain. Stereotype threat, then, is the the threat that others’ judgments or their own actions will negatively stereotype them in the domain. The resulting anxiety has a measurable effect on standardized tests.

Steele talks about how stereotype threat affects the highest achievers the most, because they are the most domain-identified. The threat acts to increase the disidentification, which keeps one from caring about how the domain relates to oneself. The result of stereotype threat is most insidious because it attacks those who are most capable of affecting a positive change in society.

The threatened face an endless procession of increasingly formidable tasks, yielding a situation where the threat continues to build. The problem gets progressively worse as one continues up the education ladder, ultimately causing the most difficulties at the top.

I assert that the effect of stereotype threat was displayed by the results on the three exams in Teri’s 1823 class, which I discussed previously. Recall that the MEPs, who were mostly high achievers, did collectively worse than the average non-MEP. However, my interpretation is that the effect of the grade suppression was too pronounced to be attributed entirely to stereotype threat. Another significant factor must be in effect for the MEPs.

Steele has recommendations for reducing the effects of the threat by specifically mentioning Treisman’s “challenge over remediation” mindset. In fact, he cites statistical evidence from the University of Michigan that traditional remediation is ineffective. My goal for MAP was to teach them the math done by mathematicians. Logic is a crucial, basic and overlooked aspect of this understanding.

One important concept discussed by both Ogbu and Steele is the development of potential affirming relationships with appropriate role models. In his second semester with us in 2423, when Antonio was floundering despite the increased attention, he kept waiting for me to abandon him. I didn’t, and this confidence in his ability turned out to be crucial.

Lack of role models is a problem which propagates through higher education. Fewer role models inspire fewer students, which in turn produces fewer role models, becoming a vicious circle. Why would young minorities choose the almost monastic existence of pursuing a higher degree when there are eager companies recruiting them for their work force? These companies have discovered that diversity can be quite profitable and, for example, are employing graduates of the MEP program as fast as Wayne can produce them.

These psychological concepts are so subtle, though, that even a Ph.D. candidate, who can personally relate to most of what has been said, has difficulty putting into words his own interpretation. I would be interested in the response to a proposal to the Oklahoma State Regents citing Ogbu and Steele and suggesting a massive affirmative action program to address these issues.