DO GENDER AND RACE MATTER? EXPLAINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPORTS PARTICIPATION AND ACHIEVEMENT

Abstract

Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey, I explore whether there are gender and race differences in the effects of participation in a variety of sports on achievement in four domains. While results suggest that selection accounts for some of the sports effects and perhaps gender differences found in prior research, the achievement benefits of playing other team sports (not softball or basketball) and individual sports appear to be greater and more consistent for white female participants than for others particularly in the three achievement domains (Mathematics, Science, and History) where females trail males in average test scores.