Journal
AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL
Volume 49, Issue 6, Pages 1048-1073Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC
DOI: 10.3102/0002831211435229
Keywords
achievement; gender; math; postsecondary; science
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Funding
- NICHD NIH HHS [R24 HD042849] Funding Source: Medline
- Division Of Undergraduate Education
- Direct For Education and Human Resources [0757018] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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This article investigates the empirical basis for often-repeated arguments that gender differences in entrance into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors are largely explained by disparities in prior achievement. Analyses use data from three national cohorts of college matriculates across three decades to consider differences across several indicators of high school math and science achievement at the mean and also at the top of the test distribution. Analyses also examine the different comparative advantages men and women enjoy in math/science versus English/reading. Regardless of how prior achievement is measured, very little of the strong and persistent gender gap in physical science and engineering majors over time is explained. Findings highlight the limitations of theories focusing on gender differences in skills and suggest directions for future research.
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