‘Caste identity and teachers’ study distorts expectations: Evidence from Bihar, India, analyzed data from 105 government schools across Bihar, collected through a detailed survey of students, teachers, households and schools.
A new research study published by the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) has found that public school teachers in Bihar often misjudge how well their students are doing, and these misjudgments vary significantly by caste.
Research shows that even when students from different caste groups score equally well on standardized tests, teachers’ perceptions do not match actual performance, with backward caste students consistently scoring lower than they deserve.
‘Caste identity and teachers’ study distorts expectations: Evidence from Bihar, India by Soham Sahoo, chair of public policy, and Ritwik Banerjee, chair of economics, analyzed data from 105 government schools across Bihar, collected through a detailed survey of students, teachers, households and schools.
Students took standardized subject tests in math, Hindi, and English to determine their actual academic standing in the classroom. Their teachers were separately asked to place them in the upper, middle or lower group purely on the basis of perception. The difference between a test-based rating and a teacher-assigned rating is what researchers call “rating bias.”
The study found that teachers’ perceptions are often inaccurate in general, but the inaccuracy becomes systematic when it comes to caste. Teachers, especially those from the upper castes, tend to underestimate backward caste students, even when their test scores match those of upper caste classmates taught in the same class.
Backward caste students, especially those from SC and ST groups, are rated by a forward caste teacher 0.22 to 0.43 ranks lower than their actual test-based rating. The study shows that backward caste students are also 17% to 27% more likely to be undergraded in all three subjects. When the researchers disaggregated the backward caste into OBC and SC/ST categories, it was found that this difference was mainly due to the lower ranking of SC/ST students compared to the general category students.
The researchers emphasize that this caste-based grading gap is not linked to differences in actual academic performance. Students across caste groups perform similarly on standardized tests. Instead, the gap arises from teacher perceptions and inaccurate beliefs rather than specific differences in ability.
The study also explores other possible explanations, such as class size, lower attendance of backward caste students in classes led by forward caste teachers, or teacher age and experience, and finds that they do not explain these differences.
The authors argue that such misjudgments can have long-term consequences. If teachers consistently expect backward caste students to perform poorly despite evidence to the contrary, this can affect classroom interactions, affect the self-esteem and motivation of these students, and potentially widen educational gaps, an effect consistent with the Pygmalion effect, where teacher expectations shape student outcomes.
The study adds to earlier research on grading discrimination, but shifts the focus to beliefs that precede grading, showing that biased expectations exist even before teachers assign grades. Researchers say it is therefore very important to correct misperceptions through caste sensitization programs and simple feedback mechanisms that alert teachers when their perceptions do not match students’ actual performance.
Published – 19 Nov 2025 19:27 IST
