Race of the interviewer and the black–white test score gap

Does the race of interviewers introduce a bias in estimating the test score gap between blacks and whites in the United States? To answer this question, I use an adult sample from the General Social Survey (GSS) in which vocabulary testing involves face-to-face and one-on-one interaction between the respondent and the interviewer. I find that black respondents perform better when tested by a black interviewer as opposed to a white interviewer. For white respondents, however, the race of the interviewer does not have a significant impact on test performance. Because most black respondents are tested by white interviewers in the GSS, the test performance of black respondents is downward biased, and the black–white test score gap is overestimated.