Browsing by Subject "Sex differences in education"
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Item The connection between academic achievement and dpression among adolescent girls and boys(2008-12) Callicoatte, Alison Noel, 1970-; Crosnoe, RobertThis dissertation applies the life course framework to understanding gender differences in the connection between academic performance and mental health. The premise for this study is based on the paradox that girls perform better in school but get less of a boost to their sense of well being from their achievement relative to boys. The life course perspective focuses both on how different pathways, such as academics and mental health, intertwine and the need to study important transitions, such as the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. This research addresses this transition by considering the consequences of the gender paradox on college enrollment and persistence. The quantitative analyses utilize Waves I, II, and III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Results indicate that academic performance and depression were positively correlated for girls and negatively correlated for boys. Adolescent gender differences in depression are driven by the high achieving segment of the student population because girls tend to get less of a mental health boost from earning good grades across the board. This is especially pronounced in high school. The end result is a slight chipping away at the well-documented advantages girls have in postsecondary education.Item Predicting sex differences in performance on the SAT I quantitative section: how content and stereotype threat affect achievement(2006) Nankervis, Bryan; Treisman, Philip UriMales consistently outperform females on the SAT-I quantitative section by about one third of a standard deviation. Previous research suggests this is due to a complex mix of biological, sociological, and psychological factors. This study examines 12th-grade male and female performance on NAEP items and uses this data to predict performance gaps on the SAT-I quantitative section. Study results suggest that sex differences in performance are due not only to the construction of the test, but also the environment in which the exam is administered. This research has far-reaching implications for the design and administration of standardized mathematics tests, which have historically exhibited large gaps in performance between the sexes. This research has implications in particular for the SAT, which is used for determining admission to many colleges and the awarding of scholarships.