Effort optimism is the confidence that acquiring the skills valued by majority society, such as those skills measured by IQ tests, is worthwhile. Lack of effort optimism has often been described as an important part of the achievement gap between students with majority and minority background in the American educational system, in this interpretation minority students under-achieve because they have no confidence that performing well in the school system will in fact help them advance socially in the face of perceived discrimination.

Books

• Jim Crow's Children: The Broken Promise of the Brown Decision - Peter H. Irons
  Peter H. Irons
  Peter H. Irons is an American political activist, civil rights attorney, legal scholar, and professor of political science. Irons is a graduate of Antioch College, an early incubator of progressive politics after World War II...