We examine teachers’ perceptions toward top performing students and their role model influence on others in an online survey-based experiment. We randomly expose teachers to profiles of top performing students and inquire whether they consider the profiled top performers to be influential role models. These profiles varied by gender and field of study (STEM or Non-STEM). Our findings show that teachers perceive top-performing girls as more influential peer role models compared to boys (?= 0.289; p < 0.001). We also investigate the qualities teachers perceive top performers who are successful role models to have. We show that teachers associate a greater sense of learning autonomy and sense of being an example with top-performing girls compared to top-performing boys. Estimated effects are more pronounced among teachers with children and teachers in urban areas. Administrative data from a representative sample show limited observed differences between top-performing boys’ and girls’ educational outcomes that could justify the differences in teachers’ gender perceptions. These findings carry significant implications for education, as teachers play a crucial role in the cultivation of positive externalities between students.