No significant gender difference in word-problem performance on either formatted or unformatted test forms¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r1 · q2 · i0 negligible
Currency · newest study 1994 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Males and females did not differ significantly on the formatted test (p = .110) or the unformatted test (p = .294), pre or post. → Zambo 1994 q2 i? Gender alone showed no significant difference on the pretest (p = .287) or posttest (p = .623). → Zambo 1994 (2)

Evidence¶

Zambo 1994¶

Zambo, Ron; Hess, Robert. (1994). The Gender Differential Effects of a Procedural Plan for Solving Mathematical Word Problems. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED375005

q2 · i0 · causal · r1

t-test on formatted-form scores by gender in the counterbalanced sixth-grade study; the null result is reported with "(t=1.621, df=71, p = .110)". No effect size printed, so impact is null.

"There was no significant difference (t=1.621, df=71, p = .110) between males and females who received the formatted version of the test, both pre and post."

Zambo 1994 (2)¶

Zambo, Ron; Hess, Robert. (1994). The Gender Differential Effects of a Procedural Plan for Solving Mathematical Word Problems. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED375005

q2 · i0 · causal · r1

Main-effect t-tests of gender on pretest and posttest scores; both non-significant as printed. The authors concluded gender "without consideration for the pattern of testing did not result in any significant difference".

"Examination of the effects of student gender by itself indicated no significant difference between males and females on the pre test ( t= 1.068, p = .287) or on the post test (t = .493, p = .623)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Gender — predictor: outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause

Related Claims¶

• Across nations, boys outperform girls in mathematics by a small average margin while girls outperform boys in reading by a margin three times larger — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Fourth-graders perform substantially better on computation tests than on word problems using the same numbers — related
• In one word-problem study, females gained significantly when the formatted procedural plan came after an unformatted test, and scored lower when the formatted test came first — related
• Prior research attributes growing male superiority in word problem solving to age, with onset debated between sixth grade and high school — reports the opposite
• Student interviews indicate the formatted plan demanded more work and time, with mixed perceptions of step helpfulness — related
• Repeated measures ANOVA shows significant time-of-testing effect and significant time-by-group interaction on word-problem scores — related
• Sixth graders scored significantly higher on posttests that included the seven-step problem-solving plan than on unformatted posttests — related
• Pre-experimental knowledge and education level relate to specific knowledge categories — related
• No significant gender differences in CTAT performance within either educational pathway — related
• No significant gender differences on anxiety or reading measures at either time point — related
• Sex differences in mathematics vary by content domain, with male advantages for geometry (d = 0.218), broad mathematics (d = 0.145), computation (d = 0.089), and national tests (d = 0.068), but near-zero differences for advanced mathematics and basic numeracy — related
• Boys outperform girls on algebra word problems, function mapping, equation memory, and arithmetic fluency, with no sex differences on other mathematics measures — reports the opposite