For Colored Girls? Factors that Influence Teacher Recommendations into Advanced Courses for Black Girls Shanyce L. Campbell Published online: 22 June 2012 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 Abstract Given the lack of attention to Black girls’ participation in STEM related courses, it remains unclear why this group participates at lower rates in STEM courses later in their academic careers (Hyde et al. 2008; Tocci and Engelhard 1991; Catsambis 1994). The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which teachers influence Black girls’ opportunities along the math pipeline. The aim is to determine the role of Black girls’ cognitive and non-cognitive behaviors on teachers’ decisions to place them in advanced courses. Using nationally representative survey data, the findings indicate that Black girls’ confidence in their ability to master skills taught math reduced the odds teacher recommendations to advanced courses. Addi- tionally, teachers’ expectations of the educational attainment of Black girls were related to the recommendation process. Overall, the findings suggest that subjective beliefs held by students and teachers critically influence Black girls’ persistence along the math pipeline. Keywords Black girls . Mathematics . Advanced courses . Course taking . Tracking . Teacher recommendations Introduction Growing national concerns currently exist regarding the economic prosperity and global competitiveness of the United States. In efforts to address these concerns, researchers, practitioners, educators and policymakers have begun to examine the underrepresentation of people of color and women in science, technology, engineer- ing and mathematics (STEM) related careers. The underrepresentation begins early in the education process and continues into college and later occupations. For women of color, the intersectionality of race and gender magnifies the inequities in access to Rev Black Polit Econ (2012) 39:389–402 DOI 10.1007/s12114-012-9139-1 S. L. Campbell (*) Department of Public Policy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA e-mail: scampbell@unc.edu