Is Obama Lifting African American Test Scores?

There's been much written about the potential impact of Obama's election on the self-perception of a segment of the African-American population. This article from the NYT addresses a recent study that appears to indicate that a positive change has happened already.

From the NYT...

Now researchers have documented what they call an Obama effect, showing that a performance gap between African-Americans and whites on a 20-question test administered before Mr. Obama’s nomination all but disappeared when the exam was administered after his acceptance speech and again after the presidential election.

The inspiring role model that Mr. Obama projected helped blacks overcome anxieties about racial stereotypes that had been shown, in earlier research, to lower the test-taking proficiency of African-Americans, the researchers conclude in a report summarizing their results.

To read the full article, click here.