ERIC Number: EJ1185051
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-189X
EISSN: N/A
The Relationship between Test Item Format and Gender Achievement Gaps on Math and ELA Tests in Fourth and Eighth Grades
Reardon, Sean F.; Kalogrides, Demetra; Fahle, Erin M.; Podolsky, Anne; Zárate, Rosalía C.
Educational Researcher, v47 n5 p284-294 Jun-Jul 2018
Prior research suggests that males outperform females, on average, on multiple-choice items compared to their relative performance on constructed-response items. This paper characterizes the extent to which gender achievement gaps on state accountability tests across the United States are associated with those tests' item formats. Using roughly 8 million fourth- and eighth-grade students' scores on state assessments, we estimate state- and district-level math and reading male-female achievement gaps. We find that the estimated gaps are strongly associated with the proportions of the test scores based on multiple-choice and constructed-response questions on state accountability tests, even when controlling for gender achievement gaps as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) or Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessments, which have the same item format across states. We find that test item format explains approximately 25% of the variation in gender achievement gaps among states.
Descriptors: Test Items, Test Format, Gender Differences, Achievement Gap, Mathematics, Language Arts, Achievement Tests, Grade 4, Grade 8, Scores, Standardized Tests, Reading Achievement, Mathematics Achievement, Multiple Choice Tests, Responses, National Competency Tests
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 4; Intermediate Grades; Elementary Education; Grade 8; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: National Assessment of Educational Progress
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305D110018; R305B090016