Gender Difference in the SweSAT Test Taking

• Would men and women perform the same results on the Swedish Scholastic Assessment Test (SweSAT) if they had been exposed to the same type of education, and were coming from the same type of family background? To answer such a question, a propensity score analysis (PSA) was used to organise comparable groups of men and women test takers. There is a great influence of self selection in test taking. The selection of the Swedish test takers can be studied thanks to comprehensive register data, which is available for the total population. In this study, the birth cohort of 1972 was analysed. Information on individual school trajectories were mirrored with some 50 variables. The PSA placed individuals into different homogenous strata according to their earlier achievement, and provided a description of “who” takes the SweSAT test. The strata, in addition to background variables, were further explored as independent variables with SweSAT test taking as dependent variable. The PSA approach contributes to reduce selection bias and to achieve more credible inferences. The potential of this approach to adjust the SweSAT test outcome for gender bias will be discussed in the paper.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap -- Pedagogik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences -- Pedagogy (hsv//eng)

Keyword

gender

SweSAT

propensity score analysis

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kon (subject category)