Abstract
This study examines gender differences in the variability of student performance in reading, mathematics and science. Twelve databases from IEA and PISA were used to analyze gender differences within an international perspective from 1995 to 2015. Effect sizes and variance ratios were computed. The main results are as follows. (1) Gender differences vary by content area, students' educational levels, and students’ proficiency levels. The gender differences at the extreme tails of the distribution are often more substantial than the gender differences at the mean. (2) Exploring the extreme tails of the distributions shows that the situation of the weakest males in reading is a real matter of concern. In mathematics and science, males are more frequently among the highest performing students. (3) The “greater male variability hypothesis” is confirmed.
Highlights
International comparative surveys of student achievement such as those carried out by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) or by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have for a long time been useful tools for estimating the magnitude of gender gaps, in particular for educational outcomes
(1) Gender differences vary by content area, students’ educational levels, and students’ proficiency levels
International datasets are electronically available for six IEA studies: Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2001, 2006, 2011; Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007; and for five PISA cycles: PISA 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012
Summary
International comparative surveys of student achievement such as those carried out by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) or by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have for a long time been useful tools for estimating the magnitude of gender gaps, in particular for educational outcomes Those organisations assess large and representative national samples of students (based on grade and/or age criteria), which avoid the issue of unrepresentative samples due to “the great deal of self-selection”, on the basis of which generalisations have been made about gender differences (Nowell and Hedges 1998). Johnson’s conclusions highlight a gender gap in favour of girls in reading at all ages, generally larger among the youngest students, in terms of both achievement and attitudes, and a gender gap in favour of boys in mathematics and physical science, again in terms both of achievement and attitudes but increasing with age These results are supported by Blondin and Lafontaine (2005) using IEA TIMSS data (grades 4, 8 and 12) in mathematics and science. The largest gender differences have been found in physical science (Comber and Keeves 1973; Johnson 1996; Mullis et al 2000), and smaller ones in biology or chemistry
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