New Study Finds Ethnic Studies Courses Significantly Improve Student Achievement at Scale

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Philadelphia, PA — April 28, 2026 — A new study published in the American Educational Research Journal finds that expanding ethnic studies courses across an entire school district can lead to meaningful improvements in student academic outcomes—offering some of the strongest evidence to date that culturally relevant curricula can be effective at scale.

The study, Cultural Relevance at Scale: The Effects of an Ethnic Studies Expansion on Academic Outcomes, examined more than a decade of data from the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), tracking over 24,000 students from middle school through high school. Using rigorous causal methods, researchers found that enrollment in ethnic studies courses significantly increased students’ grade point averages and reduced course failure rates.

The research was conducted by a team of scholars from the University of California and the University of Pennsylvania, including Sade Bonilla, assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. A policy-focused summary of the study is also available through the Annenberg Institute at Brown University’s EdWorkingPapers Policy & Practice series.

Key findings include:

• Higher academic performance: Students who took ethnic studies saw their GPA increase by an average of 0.17 points.
• Fewer course failures: Enrollment reduced the likelihood of failing a class by 5.6 percentage points—a 27% reduction.
• Broad benefits across groups: Gains were observed for students of all backgrounds, with particularly strong effects for Black and Latinx students, male students, and those with lower prior academic performance.
• Improved college readiness: The intervention led to a 15% increase in students meeting the GPA threshold required for admission to the University of California system. 

Unlike earlier studies focused on small pilot programs, this research is among the first to demonstrate that ethnic studies can be successfully implemented across an entire district while maintaining its impact.

“Many interventions that show early success face challenges when scaled to new contexts or taught by different educators,” the authors wrote. “Our study demonstrates that [ethnic studies] delivers measurable academic benefits and remains effective even scaled districtwide.” 

The study also found that the strongest academic gains occurred in math and science, suggesting that the benefits of ethnic studies extend beyond the course itself and may influence broader academic engagement.

Researchers attribute these outcomes to the core features of ethnic studies curricula, which center students’ cultural identities, promote critical thinking about social issues, and foster a stronger sense of belonging and engagement in school.

As states and districts across the country debate whether and how to expand ethnic studies requirements, the findings offer timely evidence that such courses can play a meaningful role in improving student outcomes—particularly for those historically underserved by traditional curricula.

About the Study

The study analyzed longitudinal student-level data from SFUSD between the 2007–08 and 2022–23 school years, using a difference-in-differences design to estimate causal effects of ethnic studies enrollment on academic performance. It builds on a long-standing research partnership with SFUSD, including Bonilla’s earlier work on the district’s pilot ethnic studies course. She is now leading a longer term follow-up of the original pilot cohort, examining their voting behavior as young adults. 

Authors: Biraj Bisht (UC Irvine), Sade Bonilla (University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education), Grace (Ha Eun) Kim (UCLA), and Emily K. Penner (UC Irvine)

About Penn GSE

The University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE) is one of the nation’s leading research schools in education, known for its commitment to improving educational outcomes and advancing equity through rigorous scholarship, innovative teaching, and meaningful partnerships with schools and communities. Penn GSE faculty are internationally recognized for their contributions to educational policy, practice, and research, and the school prepares leaders who are equipped to address the most pressing challenges in education today.

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