The Gender Gap in Academic Achievement
among Primary-School Children:
Test Scores, Teacher Grades
and the Importance of Non-Cognitive Skills
Chris Cornwell, University of Georgia
David Mustard, University of Georgia
Jessica Van Parys, Columbia University
‘The challenge for all of us is how to
engage these guys at a younger age,’ said
Nancy Beane, a college counselor from the
Westminster Schools in Atlanta.
Motivation
Today, females are more likely than males to …
– Graduate high school
– Enroll in college immediately following high school
– Graduate from college within six years
Measure
1960
2003
M/F undergraduate
ratio
1.55
.77
M/F ratio graduating
from 4-year schools
1.60
.74
Source: Goldin, Katz and Kuziemko (2006)
Why do gender differences matter?
• Implications for the functioning of …
– Labor markets: labor-force participation, wage gap,
within-industry and occupation diversity
– Marriage markets: matching, fertility rates, family
structure
• Implications for human-capital policy
– Single-sex classrooms?
– Same-sex teachers?
– Gender-based college admission?
Our contribution
• Examine gender differences in test scores and
teacher grades
• Link classroom behavior to grades
• Why teacher grades are important
– Determine class-level placement, HS graduation
and college admissibility
– Feedback to student influences academic choices
The questions we address
1.
Do gender differences in academic achievement emerge in
children ages 5-12, and, if so, in which subjects?
2.
Are differences in teacher grades consistent with test-score
differences?
3.
How do the differences – in test scores and grades – change
over time?
4.
To what extent can non-cognitive skills explain the
differences?
Data
• Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, 1998-99 Kindergarten
Cohort (ECLS-K)
• Tracks a nationally representative sample of students from
kindergarten to fifth grade
– Begins with 10,604 students
– Ends with 6,496 students
• Records test scores (IRT scores) and teacher grades (ARS
scores) in reading, math, and science, teachers’ behavioral
assessments of students (SRS scores)
• Rich information on family, teacher and school characteristics
Personal & family characteristics
Personal Characteristics
K
First
Third
Fifth
Male
0.51
(0.50)
0.50
(0.50)
0.50
(0.50)
0.50
(0.50)
Black
0.13
(0.34)
0.12
(0.32)
0.09
(0.29)
0.08
(0.28)
Hispanic
0.14
(0.34)
0.14
(0.35)
0.14
(0.35)
0.15
(0.36)
WIC Benefits
0.37
(0.48)
0.34
(0.47)
0.30
(0.46)
0.31
(0.46)
Teenage Mom
0.24
(0.42)
0.22
(0.41)
0.19
(0.39)
0.19
(0.39)
Mom > 30 years old
0.13
(0.33)
0.13
(0.34)
0.14
(0.35)
0.15
(0.35)
Age at K entry
65.70
(4.13)
65.79
(4.15)
65.79
(4.19)
65.73
(4.17)
# Books in the home
79.44
(60.18)
110.12
(152.56)
132.66
(185.52)
116.08
(178.60)
SES Index
0.08
(0.77)
0.09
(0.78)
0.09
(0.77)
0.08
(0.79)
Observations
10604
9299
6362
6496
Family Characteristics
Teacher & school characteristics
Teacher Characteristics
K
First
Third
Fifth
Teacher experience
9.06
(7.61)
14.85
(10.09)
15.11
(10.07)
14.62
(10.22)
Teacher education
2.11
(0.90)
2.13
(0.93)
2.20
(0.92)
2.24
(0.92)
Public school
0.80
(0.40)
0.79
(0.41)
0.78
(0.42)
0.78
(0.41)
Urban school
0.38
(0.48)
0.37
(0.48)
0.34
(0.47)
0.35
(0.48)
Rural school
0.24
(0.43)
0.23
(0.42)
0.26
(0.44)
0.26
(0.44)
Southern school
0.34
(0.47)
0.36
(0.48)
0.30
(0.46)
0.29
(0.45)
% Minority 50-75
0.10
(0.29)
0.10
(0.29)
0.09
(0.28)
0.08
(0.27)
% Minority >75
0.18
(0.39)
0.18
(0.39)
0.16
(0.37)
0.18
(0.39)
Observations
10604
9494
6658
6496
School Characteristics
Measures of academic achievement
• IRT Scores
– NCES develops and administers tests
– Tests based on standard curriculum in reading, math and science
– Intended to test the same skills assessed by teachers
• ARS and SRS Scores
– NCES administers questionnaires to the teachers
– Teachers rate child’s knowledge and ability on specific components of the
reading, math, and science curriculum
– From these questionnaires NCES creates a composite score, which is the
“teacher grade” in our analysis
– Teachers do not know the test score when they answer questions about
academic ability
ARS and SRS examples
ARS Scores
On a scale of 1-5 where 1 implies the
child has not yet demonstrated the
skill and 5 indicates proficiency …
(1) “This child reads words with
regular vowel sounds.”
(2) “This child reads first grade books
independently with comprehension.”
(ECLS-K First Grade Teacher
Questionnaire Part C for language and
literacy)
SRS Scores
The “Approaches to Learning” scale
measures behaviors that …
“affect the ease with which children can
benefit from the learning environment.
It includes six items that rate the child’s
attentiveness, task persistence,
eagerness to learn, learning
independence, flexibility and
organization.”
(ECLS-K First Grade User Manual)
Score, ARS and SRS data
Female
Male
Reading Scores
Fifth
Mean
144.17
Std. Dev.
20.81
Mean
141.02
Std. Dev.
23.06
Reading Grades
Fifth
3.62
0.80
3.37
0.82
Math Scores
Fifth
114.16
20.11
118.74
20.06
Math Grades
Fifth
3.45
0.65
3.47
0.72
Science Scores
Fifth
58.28
13.72
61.65
13.20
Science Grades
Fifth
3.41
0.85
3.36
0.87
SRS Score for
ATL
Fifth
2.30
0.59
1.95
0.67
Baseline achievement regression
yi   0  1malei  X i   ui
• Outcomes – test scores and teacher-assigned
grades for a given student (i) in a particular
subject for a certain grade level
• OLS estimation by grade-level cross section:
spring K, first, third and fifth grades
• Use ECLS-K sample weights
Reading Scores (Male – Female)
Test scores
Grades
Girls outperform boys in every
case
Girls receive higher grades in
every case, but the disparities
are greater
Group
K
1
3
5
Group
K
1
3
5
W
-.16
-.13
-.13
-.16
W
-.26
-.25
-.26
-.29
B
-.16
-.17
-.25
-.26
B
-.35
-.24
-.40
-.37
H
-.17
-.23
-.25
-.36
H
-.22
-.21
-.33
-.38
Also, observables explain more test-score than grades variation.
Math Scores (Male – Female)
Test scores
Grades
• White boys outperform
white girls in every grade
• For blacks and Hispanics, no
clear evidence of a gender
gap
• White boys and girls receive
roughly similar grades
• Some evidence that black boys
receive significantly lower grades
• Disparity between test-score and
grade gaps rise with grade level
Group
K
1
3
5
Group
K
1
3
5
W
.06
.14
.28
.19
W
-.13
-.002
.09
.02
B
-.06
-.08
.03
.18
B
-.28
-.11
-.24
-.28
H
-.03
.09
.20
.02
H
-.09
-.06
-.12
-.18
Science (Male – Female)
Test scores
Grades
• Through 1st grade, small and
imprecisely estimated differences
favoring boys
• After 1st grade, boys generally
outperform girls by at least .25 sd
• Boys generally receive lower
grades
• Disparity between test-score and
grade gaps rise with grade level
Group
K
1
3
5
Group
K
1
3
5
W
.06
.11
.28
.25
W
-.11
-.06
.01
-.03
B
-.02
.05
.23
.56
B
-.27
-.13
-.22
.07
H
.05
.05
.13
.29
H
-.11
-.03
-.04
-.21
Reading grades, test scores and
behavior scores: whites
Whites
Male
First Grade (Spring)
Third Grade (Spring)
Fifth Grade (Spring)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(a)
(b)
(c)
-0.247*
-0.161*
-0.089*
-0.258*
-0.171*
-0.087*
-0.285*
-0.185*
-0.067
(0.032)
(0.023)
(0.023)
(0.040)
(0.032)
(0.030)
(0.057)
(0.045)
(0.046)
0.672*
0.609*
0.674*
0.586*
0.617*
0.518*
(0.014)
(0.014)
(0.019)
(0.020)
(0.025)
(0.030)
Test Scoret
SRS Scoret-1
0.189*
0.235*
0.244*
(0.013)
(0.018)
(0.032)
R2
0.12
0.51
0.54
0.16
0.48
0.52
0.17
0.45
0.49
N
5983
5983
5983
4338
4338
4338
4327
4327
4327
Math grades, test scores and
behavioral scores: whites
Whites
Male
First Grade (Spring)
Third Grade (Spring)
Fifth Grade (Spring)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(a)
(b)
(c)
-0.002
-0.072*
0.035
0.094*
-0.072+
0.033
0.022
-0.094+
0.006
(0.032)
(0.028)
(0.028)
(0.042)
(0.038)
(0.040)
(0.063)
(0.052)
(0.048)
0.491*
0.414*
0.601*
0.521*
0.604*
0.541*
(0.016)
(0.017)
(0.022)
(0.025)
(0.035)
(0.037)
Test Scoret
SRS Scoret-1
0.227*
0.204*
0.149*
(0.017)
(0.024)
(0.030)
R2
0.12
0.32
0.36
0.13
0.37
0.40
0.13
0.38
0.40
N
5983
5983
5983
4338
4338
4338
2113
2113
2113
Science grades, test scores and
behavioral scores: whites
Whites
Male
First Grade (Spring)
Third Grade (Spring)
Fifth Grade (Spring)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(a)
(b)
(c)
-0.063+
-0.110*
0.010
0.006
-0.117*
-0.000
-0.026
-0.165*
-0.032
(0.033)
(0.031)
(0.032)
(0.042)
(0.040)
(0.041)
(0.074)
(0.069)
(0.069)
0.422*
0.335*
0.435*
0.372*
0.543*
0.446*
(0.025)
(0.024)
(0.023)
(0.024)
(0.049)
(0.051)
Test Scoret
SRS Scoret-1
0.261*
0.245*
0.250*
(0.018)
(0.023)
(0.041)
R2
0.10
0.19
0.25
0.11
0.24
0.29
0.12
0.28
0.32
N
5983
5983
5983
4338
4338
4338
2021
2021
2021
Summary (1/2)
1.
Do gender differences in academic achievement emerge in
children ages 5-12, and, if so, in which subjects? YES
• Girls of all races outperform boys on reading tests.
• White boys outperform white girls on math and science tests.
• There are no gender differences in math test scores for black and
Hispanic children.
• After 1st grade, boys generally outperform girls in science by at least
.25 sd
2.
Are differences in teacher grades consistent with test-score
differences? NO
• Girls receive higher reading grades than test scores would suggest.
• There is no statistically significant difference in math or science
grades for white children.
• Black and Hispanic boys receive lower grades in math and science,
despite their equivalent or higher test scores.
Summary (2/2)
3.
How do the differences – in test scores and grades – change
over time?
• The reading test score gap is constant over time for white students,
but increases for black and Hispanic students.
• The math test score gap increases over time for white students, but is
constant for black and Hispanic students.
4.
To what extent can non-cognitive skills explain the
differences?
• Classroom behavior explains the gender differences in test scores and
grades.
• When boys and girls have the same test scores and exhibit the same
classroom behavior, boys earn higher grades.