Geographic Variation in the Gender Differences in Test Scores

Abstract

The causes and consequences of gender disparities in standardized test scores -- especially in the high tails of achievement -- have been a topic of heated debate. The existing evidence on standardized test scores largely confirms the prevailing stereotypes that more men than women excel in math and science while more women than men excel in tests of language and reading. We provide a new perspective on this gender gap in test scores by analyzing the variation in these disparities across geographic areas. We illustrate that male-female ratios of students scoring in the high ranges of standardized tests vary significantly across the United States. This variation is systematic in several important ways. In particular, states where males are highly overrepresented in the top math and science scores also tend to be states where women are highly overrepresented in the top reading scores. This pattern suggests that states vary in their adherence to stereotypical gender performance, rather than favoring one sex over the other across all subjects. Furthermore, since the genetic distinction and the hormonal differences between sexes that might affect early cognitive development (that is, innate abilities) are likely the same regardless of the state in which a person happens to be born, the variation we find speaks to the nature-versus-nurture debates surrounding test scores and suggests environments significantly impact gender disparities in test scores.

Explaining Gender Differences in Confidence and Overconfidence in Math

“…Several studies have proposed important channels through which substantial gaps in male and female math attainments are produced: socialized gender roles (Guiso et al 2008;Fryer and Levitt 2010;Nollenberger et al 2016;Pope and Sydnor 2010); male-oriented school and societal environments (Autor et al 2016;Joensen and Nielsen 2014;Bedard and Cho 2010); gender differences in preference and competitiveness Vesterlund 2007 andBuser et al 2014;Gneezy et al 2003); and behavioral and environmental differences during childhood (Chetty et al 2016). These studies underscore an interactive relationship between gender gaps in math and societal environments (nurture) instead of an innate imbalance (nature) in quantitative abilities between men and women.…”

Gender Gaps in Early Educational Achievement

“…There is a striking lack of uniformity in the achievement gap. The relationship between gender and relative educational achievement varies with the social, cultural, and educational context, for example, (Pope & Sydnor 2010;Nollenberger et al 2014;Lavy & Sand 2015), opening the possibility that each might play a role in generating the gap. Achievement gaps also vary with students' race and ethnicity (Penner & Paret 2008;Husain & Millimet 2009), with their families' and peers' socio-economic status (Entwisle et al 2007;Legewie & DiPrete 2012) as well as across the achievement distribution itself (e.g.…”

Math and Gender: Is Math a Route to a High-Powered Career?

“…Recent studies indicate that the teaching environment of math is important for this achievement pattern (Riegle-Crumb and Humphries, 2012;Pope and Sydnor, 2010;Niederle and Vesterlund, 2010). As a consequence, there may be a lost pool of talent among girls with high math abilities.…”

“…Furthermore, it increases the probability of becoming a CEO. Thus, advanced math is to some extent a route to a high-powered career.There is a wide consensus that the gender gap in math performance increases gradually as we move from the mean to the top of the performance distribution, and that the ratio of males to females who score at the top 5% of the distribution is around two to one (Pope and Sydnor, 2010;Machin and Pekkarinen, 2008;Hyde et al, 2008;Niederle and Vesterlund, 2010;Ellison and Swanson, 2010).The literature indicates that this gap in performance is to a large extent driven by cultural and environmental factors. One line of reasoning stems mainly from the experimental literature, while another line of reasoning draws on spatial variation in the gender gap at the top of the math performance distribution.…”