The gender gap and discriminating power in the National Curriculum Key Stage three science assessments in England and Wales

Abstract

Data from a large sample of year 9(13-14years) students taking the national Key Stage 3 science tests in England and Wales were used to explore gender differences in science achievement. The most pronounced gender differences, which were in favour of males, were found in the higher level papers taken by more able students, with the largest gender gaps occurring in physics questions. Using separate male and female discrimination indices, it was found that the more discriminating questions tended to exhibit larger gender gaps in favour of males.