The impact of penalties for wrong answers on the gender gap in test scores

Katherine B. Coffman () and David Klinowski
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Katherine B. Coffman: Negotiations, Organizations, and Markets, Harvard Business School, Boston, MA 02163
David Klinowski: Santiago Centre for Experimental Social Sciences, Nuffield College, University of Oxford, Santiago 8340599, Chile; Department of Economics, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago 8340599, Chile

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2020, vol. 117, issue 16, 8794-8803

Abstract: Multiple-choice examinations play a critical role in university admissions across the world. A key question is whether imposing penalties for wrong answers on these examinations deters guessing from women more than men, disadvantaging female test-takers. We consider data from a large-scale, high-stakes policy change that removed penalties for wrong answers on the national college entry examination in Chile. The policy change reduced a large gender gap in questions skipped. It also narrowed gender gaps in performance, primarily among high-performing test-takers, and in the fields of math, social science, and chemistry.

Keywords: behavioral economics; gender; standardized testing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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