The Gender Question in Economic Education: Is it the Teacher or the Test?

Carlos Asarta, Roger Butters () and Eric Thompson ()
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Roger Butters: Department of Economics,University of Nebraska
Eric Thompson: Department of Economics,University of Nebraska

No 13-12, Working Papers from University of Delaware, Department of Economics

Abstract: One of the most persistent, and controversial, empirical regularities in economic education research is the significant difference between the test scores of male and female students. Several possible explanations for this “Gender Gap” are well documented in the literature. Using a large sample of test scores from the Test of Economic Literacy (TEL), we seek to determine whether gender role-model effects influence these differentials or whether it is the result of biased testing materials. A model employing an educational production function exhibits no evidence of role-model effects for our two student cohorts, although some students perform better when taught by female teachers. We find no evidence to support the claim that the testing instrument is biased, and conclude that the gender gap observed in our data is not attributable to the teacher or the test.

Keywords: Gender; Education; Assessment; Economics; K-12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A21 I21 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2013
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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