Teacher Expectancy and Student Achievement

The work of Rosenthal and Jacobsen (1968), among others, shows that teacher expectations influence student performance. Positive expectations influence performance positively, and negative expectations influence performance negatively. Rosenthal and Jacobson originally described the phenomenon as the Pygmalion Effect. In 2016 their findings are still as relevant as they were 40 years ago. The conversation around teacher expectation must continue as the societal implications are overwhelming.