Culturally relevant teaching is proposed as a powerful method for increasing student achievement and engagement and for reducing achievement gaps. Nevertheless, the research demonstrating its effectiveness consists primarily of case studies of exemplary classrooms. In addition, most of the research fails to take student perspectives into account. The current study asks whether culturally relevant teaching works by considering student perceptions of classrooms that vary in the amount of culturally relevant practices. The sample was 315 sixth- through 12th-grade students sampled from across the United States (62% female, 25% White, 25% Latino, 25% African American, and 25% Asian) who completed surveys of their experiences of culturally relevant teaching, cultural socialization, opportunities to learn about other cultures, and opportunities to learn about racism. Elements of culturally relevant teaching were significantly associated with academic outcomes and ethnic-racial identity development. The findings provide support for the effectiveness of culturally relevant teaching in everyday classrooms.

School racial climate is an important aspect of the school environment that can have significant implications for youths’ development. However, existing research is limited by conceptual and methodological concerns that restrict the ability of researchers and educators to identify what about and how the racial climate is important. The author addresses existing limitations by articulating school racial climate as a multidimensional construct composed of interpersonal interactions and school racial socialization. The sample consists of 99 Black middle and high school students who completed surveys on their perceptions of the school racial climate and their belonging, competence, and intrinsic motivation. The results showed, for example, that perceptions of more positive cross-race interactions were associated with greater belonging, and perceptions of colorblind messages were associated with lower competence. Overall, the study demonstrated the utility of a multidimensional approach to school racial climate and supported existing research on the importance of climate for adolescents’ motivation.