The importance of reading competence for both individuals and society underlines the strong need to understand the gender gap in reading achievement. Beyond mean differences in reading comprehension, research has indicated that girls possess specific advantages on constructed-response items compared with boys of the same reading ability. Moreover, it was shown that differences in intrinsic motivation in the tested domain might affect test scores. Differential item functioning was used to analyze the complex relationships among gender, item format, and intrinsic reading motivation in two samples taken from large-scale German assessments of reading comprehension (PIRLS 2011 and PISA 2009). In line with prior research, results showed that compared with equally skilled boys, both 10-and 15-year-old girls performed better on constructed-response items. Furthermore, findings suggest an advantage of 15-year-old but not 10-year-old students with high levels of intrinsic reading motivation when responding to constructed-response items. Results are discussed in relation to the design and interpretation of (large-scale) assessments, the increasing use of constructed-response items in new assessments in response to the Common Core State Standards, and gender-sensitive educational practice.