An Investigation Into Gender Effects In English Test Responses
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초록
The present study aims to examine gender differences in students’ responses to a proficiency test in the context of English as a foreign language. A total of 379 third graders of a middle school took part in the study. The instrument was a proficiency test administered by a province office of education whose purpose was to assess students’ general scholastic abilities. The English test consisted of thirty test items, and they were classified into four categories by test item types: a) Mood/Impression type,b) Logical Inference type, c) Main Idea or Topic Type, and d) Specifications/Details type, and by the test passage content: a) daily life, b) natural science, c)sports/leisure, and d) human societies. All the test items were based on a multiple-choice format with five item options. The results indicate that girl students achieved significantly higher scores in English subtest than boy students. In terms of test passage content, there were no significant differences between girls and boys even though the gap was a little bigger in the content areas of daily life and sports/leisure. In terms of the test item types, the test items with mood/impression-related questions or the items that ask testees to find the main idea or topic were significantly in favor of girls. The limitations and pedagogical implications were discussed.
Abstract
The present study aims to examine gender differences in students’ responses to a proficiency test in the context of English as a foreign language. A total of 379 third graders of a middle school took part in the study. The instrument was a proficiency test administered by a province office of education whose purpose was to assess students’ general scholastic abilities. The English test consisted of thirty test items, and they were classified into four categories by test item types: a) Mood/Impression type,b) Logical Inference type, c) Main Idea or Topic Type, and d) Specifications/Details type, and by the test passage content: a) daily life, b) natural science, c)sports/leisure, and d) human societies. All the test items were based on a multiple-choice format with five item options. The results indicate that girl students achieved significantly higher scores in English subtest than boy students. In terms of test passage content, there were no significant differences between girls and boys even though the gap was a little bigger in the content areas of daily life and sports/leisure. In terms of the test item types, the test items with mood/impression-related questions or the items that ask testees to find the main idea or topic were significantly in favor of girls. The limitations and pedagogical implications were discussed.
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