The testing gap all but eliminated when Obama at peak

Voice of San Diego
DAVID WASHBURN
January 23, 2009
SDSU Researcher Finds 'Obama Effect'

The performance gap between black and white Americans when it comes to test-taking was significantly narrowed during key points in Barack Obama's ascension to the U.S. presidency, according to a study by San Diego State University researcher David Marx.

Over a three-month period last year, Marx and researchers from Northwestern and Vanderbilt universities administered an online verbal exam, which resembled the Graduate Record Exam, to 84 black Americans and 388 white Americans -- a breakdown equivalent to the overall U.S. population.

The results showed that whites scored better than their black counterparts on tests administered during periods when Obama's achievements were the least visible. However, during the points in the campaign when Obamamania was at its peak, the performance gap was all but eliminated.

"Barack Obama has been widely heralded as a role model for Black-Americans because he inspires hope," said Marx, an SDSU professor of psychology in a news release. "This research provides evidence that this election has had a concrete beneficial effect on Black-Americans on at least this one measurable area of academic performance."...

[Maura Larkins' comment: I have noticed since the election that I see more African-Americans shopping at my local Costco, and they are more likely to catch my eye and smile. I've also noticed that people of color, of every ethnicity, seem to be smiling more.]