Method of Measurement and Gender Differences in Scholastic Achievement

Abstract

Gender differences in scholastic achievement as a function of method of measurement were examined by comparing the performance of 15‐year‐old boys (N = 739) and girls (N = 758) in Irish schools on multiple‐choice tests and free‐response tests (requiring short written answers) of mathematics, Irish, and English achievement. Males performed significantly better than females on multiple‐choice tests compared to their performance on free‐response examinations. An expectation that the gender difference would be larger for the languages and smaller for mathematics because of the superior verbal skills attributed to females was not fulfilled.