Global Sex Differences in Test Score Variability
Global Sex Differences in Test Score Variability
复制标题
测试分数变异性的全球性别差异
作者：
S. Machin;Tuomas Pekkarinen
D o boys and girls differ in their intellectual and cognitive abilities and, if so, in what way? These questions have raised considerable debate, both in terms of average performance and in terms of variability around the average. Empirical research on gender differences in achievements produces mixed conclusions, with some evidence that favors boys and some that favors girls (1–4). In many countries, girls show superior performance in school examinations, which is also reflected in higher rates of attendance in tertiary education. In addition, girls have been improving their position relative to boys (5, 6). In countries with a more gender-equal culture, the gender gap that is usually in favor of boys in average mathematics test scores is erased or even reversed in favor of girls (7). At the same time, some research focuses on the notion that there are more males at the upper end of the distributions of educational and professional success (8). Oft-cited examples include there being more male than female Nobel Prize winners and the inequity of wages in the labor market in favor of males (9, 10). Studies of talented individuals who succeed at the very highest levels, especially in science, highlight substantial male overrepresentation (11). These outcomes can be generated by various kinds of distributions describing the educational and intellectual make-up of boys and girls. Differences in the gender composition of the high-scoring group can be a consequence of gender differences in the mean or variance of the test scores or both. Given that recent research has shown that gender
