The Relationship Between Test Item Format and Gender Achievement Gaps on Math and ELA Tests in Fourth and Eighth Grades

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Educational researcher 2018-06, Vol.47 (5), p.284-294
Main Authors: Reardon, Sean F., Kalogrides, Demetra, Fahle, Erin M., Podolsky, Anne, Zárate, Rosalía C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement gaps
Accountability
Achievement Gap
Achievement Tests
Elementary education
Gender
Gender Differences
Grade 4
Grade 8
Language Arts
Mathematics
Mathematics Achievement
Multiple Choice Tests
National Competency Tests
Quasi-experimental methods
Reading Achievement
Responses
Scores
Standardized Tests
Test Format
Test Items
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0013-189X
1935-102X
DOI:10.3102/0013189X18762105