Gender differences in multiple-choice questions and the risk of losing points

I study the gender differences in performance in multiple-choice questions in a setting where wrong answers are penalized and the objective is to score as high points as possible. I exploit data from an undergraduate level microeconomics course at a Finnish university across a six-year period of 2010 and 2012-2016. The course consists of two equally weighted exams that include both multiple-choice and open-ended questions. The results show that, when controlling for the performance in the first exam, women omit more multiple-choice question items (MCQ) in the second exam than men which, in turn, translates to fewer points. Women do not do worse in open-ended questions that are similar to the MCQ, neither is the probability of them answering incorrectly to the MCQ higher. Hence, gender differences in test results might reflect differences in behavior in a very particular test setting rather than genuine differences in skills

Understanding Performance in Test Taking: The Role of Question Difficulty Order

Standardized assessments are widely used to determine access to educational resources with important consequences for later economic outcomes in life. However, many design features of the tests themselves may lead to psychological reactions influencing performance. In particular, the level of difficulty of the earlier questions in a test may affect performance in later questions. How should we order test questions according to their level of difficulty such that test performance offers an accurate assessment of the test taker\u27s aptitudes and knowledge? We conduct a field experiment with about 19,000 participants in collaboration with an online teaching platform where we randomly assign participants to different orders of difficulty and we find that ordering the questions from easiest to most difficult yields the lowest probability to abandon the test, as well as the highest number of correct answers. Consistent results are found exploiting the random variation of difficulty across test booklets in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a triannual international test, for the years of 2009, 2012, and 2015, providing additional external validity. We conclude that the order of the difficulty of the questions in tests should be considered carefully, in particular when comparing performance between test-takers who have faced different order of questions

GENDER ISSUE IN TOEFL TEST: DOES IT MAKE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE?

Gender issue has been noted as a debatable issue over decades in second language learning, including in TOEFL test which is recognized throughout the world as a certified foreign language test. The focus of this paper is to explore and to compare the TOEFL proficiency between male and female students. The samples of this research were 20 students of Syiah Kuala University; 10 male students and 10 female students using simple random sampling. A descriptive quantitative research design was manipulated to sum up the data and the instrument deployed was TOEFL tests. Result of the tests shows that gender issue does not influence the TOEFL proficiency. It means that there is no significant difference in TOEFL test score between male and female students

The Dunning-Kruger Effect on Free Throw Shooting

This study examines the Dunning-Kruger effect in regards to physical activity. Seventy-four participants with various levels of basketball experience were recruited from an undergraduate university. Participants were assigned to make predictions regarding the number of free throw shots they would make out of ten before or after warming up. Out of factors which affected participant predictions (gender, previous experience, warm up group), gender was found to have a significant relationship with predictive error score. Additionally, underconfidence from top-performing participants and overconfidence from bottom-performing participants indicates the presence of the Dunning-Kruger effect in physical tasks

Sex differences in confidence influence patterns of conformity

The research was supported in part by an ERC Advanced Grant (EVOCULTURE, Ref.232823) awarded to KNL.Lack of confidence in one's own ability can increase the likelihood of relying on social information. Sex differences in confidence have been extensively investigated in cognitive tasks, but implications for conformity have not been directly tested. Here, we tested the hypothesis that, in a task that shows sex differences in confidence, an indirect effect of sex on social information use will also be evident. Participants (N = 168) were administered a mental rotation (MR) task or a letter transformation (LT) task. After providing an answer, participants reported their confidence before seeing the responses of demonstrators and being allowed to change their initial answer. In the MR, but not the LT, task, women showed lower levels of confidence than men, and confidence mediated an indirect effect of sex on the likelihood of switching answers. These results provide novel, experimental evidence that confidence is a general explanatory mechanism underpinning susceptibility to social influences. Our results have implications for the interpretation of the wider literature on sex differences in conformity.PostprintPeer reviewe

THE CONTRIBUTION OF STRUCTURED PLAY AS A PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL TOOL FOR STUDENTS WITH HIGH-FUNCTIONING ASD IN KINDERGARTEN: THE TEACHERS' PERSPECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of structured play as a learning and educational tool for students with high-functioning ASD. Qualitative research was applied to investigate the above purpose. 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted with primary school kindergarten teachers. The results of the survey showed that the majority of the teachers considered structured play to be necessary for the effective education of students with high-functioning ASD. Also, educators can easily integrate it into their daily educational practice, although the curriculum limits its use. The biggest obstacles that teachers encounter have to do with available educational materials, infrastructure and the need for training. The majority of teachers stated that new technology and digital play are very important in enhancing the skills and progress of students with high-functioning ASD. Finally, teachers differed among themselves regarding the gendered dimension of gaming with the majority stating that they do not choose games that reinforce stereotypes.  Article visualizations

Math anxiety and perfectionistic concerns in multiple-choice assessment

We examined the relationships between math anxiety, perfectionism, and academic achievement in undergraduates enrolled in a course with high mathematical content. Participants were 251 students who completed math anxiety and perfectionism questionnaires, and whose academic achievement was measured via a multiple-choice examination. The number of hits, errors, and unanswered questions on this examination were analyzed to explore the possible influence of math anxiety and perfectionism on students' performance. Results showed that highly math-anxious (HMA) students were more perfectionist than their low math anxious (LMA) peers, insofar as they were more concerned about making mistakes and had more doubts about their own actions. The HMA group also obtained worse grades than did their LMA counterparts, although this was because they left more questions unanswered, not because they made more mistakes. Analysis of the relationship between math anxiety and the number of unanswered questions revealed that concern over errors and doubts about actions played a mediating role in this relationship. In conclusion, HMA students' fear of making mistakes and doubts about their own actions are important factors influencing their performance in multiple-choice tests

The effect of domain and framing on elicited risk aversion

Experimental literature has found that risk attitudes are not robust to different elicitation techniques. However, most comparisons across elicitation methods involve different rewards and framings simultaneously. Our experimental design helps to disentangle the effect of these two factors. We consider two different personal rewards (money domain and grade domain) and two different scenarios while keeping the reward constant (lottery framing and exam framing). We find no differences in elicited risk aversion between the two domains. However, framing matters: elicited risk aversion is lower in the exam framing.Gobierno Vasco (IT1336-19), MINECO/ FEDER (PID2019-108718GB-I00) and Fundacion Ramon Areces (XVII concurso Nacional para la Adjudicacion de Ayudas a la Investigacion en Ciencias Sociales). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript