Racial Differences in Public Confidence in Education: 1974–2002*

Objective. This article examines the black-white gap in confidence in education in the United States and how the gap has changed over time. Method. The study uses ordinal logit regression on General Social Surveys (1974–2002). Results. Whites have less confidence in education, partly because whites tend to have higher levels of education, income, and conservatism, and are more likely to be affiliated with the Republican Party and evangelical denominations. The black-white gap is largest at lower levels of education, and disappears among college graduates. The gap shrinks during Republican control of the presidency in the United States, and widens during Democratic control. Conclusion. The black-white gap in confidence is not due solely to individual factors, but also to the larger political context and to the groups’ different relationships to the institution of education.