EMPIRICAL RESEARCH Promotive and Corrosive Factors in African American Students’ Math Beliefs and Achievement Matthew A. Diemer 1,2,3 • Aixa D. Marchand 2 • Sarah E. McKellar 2 • Oksana Malanchuk 3 Received: 18 November 2015 / Accepted: 7 February 2016 / Published online: 17 February 2016 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016 Abstract Framed by expectancy-value theory (which posits that beliefs about and the subjective valuation of a domain predict achievement and decision-making in that domain), this study examined the relationships among teacher differential treatment and relevant math instruction on African American students’ self-concept of math ability, math task value, and math achievement. These questions were examined by applying structural equation modeling to 618 African American youth (45.6 % female) followed from 7th to 11th grade in the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study. While controlling for gender and prior math achievement, relevant math instruction promoted and teacher differential treatment corroded students’ math beliefs and achievement over time. Further, teacher discrimination undermined students’ per- ceptions of their teachers, a mediating process under-ex- amined in previous inquiry. These findings suggest policy and practice levers to narrow opportunity gaps, as well as foster math achievement and science, technology, engi- neering and math success. Keywords Math Á Expectancy value theory Á African Americans Á Adolescents Á Structural equation modeling Introduction Students’ beliefs about their math ability and the impor- tance they place upon math both play key roles in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) achievement and occupational decision-making (e.g., Adelman 1999; Wang and Degol 2013). Expectancy-value theory frames student motivation and academic success as largely predicted by academic self-concept (i.e., domain- specific beliefs about ability) and task value (i.e., the subjective importance of a task) (e.g., Eccles and Wigfield 2002). As students navigate academic contexts, changes in self-concept of math ability, math task value, and math achievement have been linked to teachers’ practices and social interactions (Urdan and Schoenfelder 2006). Stu- dent–teacher interactions can play a promotive or corrosive role in motivating students and enhancing achievement (Eccles and Roeser 2011; Watt 2006). This study examines the role of ‘‘relevant math instruction,’’ or math teachers’ emphases upon making lessons interesting and the useful- ness of math for students’ everyday life. While research has established the relationships between these math teaching practices and student math-related beliefs (e.g., Watt 2004), there is less known about whether relevant math instruction fosters these same outcomes among African American students (Eccles 2005; Okeke et al. 2009). Furthermore, for students of color, the school racial climate—conceptualized here as students’ perceptions that & Matthew A. Diemer diemerm@umich.edu Aixa D. Marchand admarch@umich.edu Sarah E. McKellar smkella@umich.edu Oksana Malanchuk oksana@umich.edu 1 Room 4120, School of Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA 2 Combined Program in Education and Psychology, Educational Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA 3 Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA 123 J Youth Adolescence (2016) 45:1208–1225 DOI 10.1007/s10964-016-0439-9