Nearly all schools claim to hold high expectations for all students. In reality, however, what is professed is not always practiced. And in many urban and inner city schools, low expectations predominate. Evidence suggests that schools can improve student learning by encouraging teachers and students to set their sights high. The expectations teachers have for their students and the assumptions they make about their potential have a tangible effect on student achievement.
Students tend to internalize the beliefs teachers have about their ability.
When teachers believe in students, students believe in themselves. Conversely, when students are viewed as lacking in ability or motivation and are not expected to make significant progress, they tend to adopt this perception of themselves. That is, students tend to give to teachers as much or as little as teachers expect of them. A characteristic shared by most highly effective teachers is their adherence to uniformly high expectations. Either consciously or unconsciously, teachers often behave differently toward students based on the beliefs and assumptions they have about them.