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Gender Difference in Verbal Performance: a Meta-analysis of United States State Performance Assessments

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Jennifer Petersen at University of Wisconsin–Whitewater
Jennifer Petersen
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A comprehensive, statistical review of gender differences in verbal performance has not been conducted in several decades and the majority of previous work on this topic used published studies that often include small, non-representative samples. The introduction of national legislation in US public schools required schools to assess and publicly report verbal performance, thus providing verbal assessment data for millions of American students. The current study presents a meta-analysis of gender differences in US state verbal assessments. Data were collected from the departments of education in 16 states representing more than 10 million US students in grades 3 through 11. Results indicated a small gender difference favoring females for overall verbal performance (d = 0.29). However, when type of assessment was considered, the female advantages in reading (d = 0.19) and language arts (d = 0.29) were smaller than in writing performance (d = 0.45). The small gender differences in verbal performance increased in a linear pattern from grades 3 to 8 and then remained steady in high school.
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META-ANALYSIS
Gender Difference in Verbal Performance: a Meta-analysis
of United States State Performance Assessments
Jennifer Petersen
1
Published online: 3 September 2018
#Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract
A comprehensive, statistical review of gender differences in verbal performance has not been
conducted in several decades and the majority of previous work on this topic used published
studies that often include small, non-representative samples. The introduction of national
legislation in US public schools required schools to assess and publicly report verbal perfor-
mance, thus providing verbal assessment data for millions of American students. The current
study presents a meta-analysis of gender differences in US state verbal assessments. Data were
collected from the departments of education in 16 states representing more than 10 million US
students in grades 3 through 11. Results indicated a small gender difference favoring females
for overall verbal performance (d= 0.29). However, when type of assessment was considered,
the female advantages in reading (d= 0.19) and language arts (d= 0.29) were smaller than in
writing performance (d=0.45). The small gender differences in verbal performance increased
in a linear pattern from grades 3 to 8 and then remained steady in high school.
Keywords Verbal performance .Gender .Meta-analysis .Writing .English Language Arts
Developmental trends in gender differences in cognitive performance are important for
informing educational policies and practice. Although recent meta-analyses have focused on
gender differences in mathematical performance (Hyde et al. 2008; Lindberg et al. 2010), a
comprehensive meta-analysis of verbal performance has not been published in decades
(Feingold 1988; Hedges and Nowell 1995; Hyde and Linn 1988). A new meta-analysis
informed by recent data and statistical procedures is necessary in order to determine the
current developmental trends in gender differences in verbal performance.
Educational Psychology Review (2018) 30:1269–1281
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-018-9450-x
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-018-
9450-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
*Jennifer Petersen
petersej@uww.edu
1
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater, 800 W. Main St, Whitewater, WI 53190, USA
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... Finally, regarding the sample of the studies, there was a variation across the literature, ranging from 24 (Alighieri et al., 2021;Felix, 2018) to 10.000.000 (Petersen, 2018) students. ...
... There was strong evidence that female students systematically obtain better writing achievement than their male peers as shown in 56 articles (Table 3) (e.g. Andersen et al., 2022;Cordeiro et al., 2022;Gong et al., 2022;Graham et al., 2017aGraham et al., , 2019Hajovsky et al., 2018a, b;Kim et al., 2015;Lewno-Dumdie & Hajovsky, 2020;Mo & Troia, 2017;Parker et al., 2011;Petersen, 2018;Potter & Wilson, 2021;Tate et al., 2016;Thomas, 2020;Troia et al., 2022;Wilson & Wen, 2022). Notably, the achievement gap in favor of females was perceived in verbal performance in general, but writing was the skill that evidences the largest gap compared to reading and language arts (Petersen, 2018). ...
... Andersen et al., 2022;Cordeiro et al., 2022;Gong et al., 2022;Graham et al., 2017aGraham et al., , 2019Hajovsky et al., 2018a, b;Kim et al., 2015;Lewno-Dumdie & Hajovsky, 2020;Mo & Troia, 2017;Parker et al., 2011;Petersen, 2018;Potter & Wilson, 2021;Tate et al., 2016;Thomas, 2020;Troia et al., 2022;Wilson & Wen, 2022). Notably, the achievement gap in favor of females was perceived in verbal performance in general, but writing was the skill that evidences the largest gap compared to reading and language arts (Petersen, 2018). This gap in favor of female students represents a disparity of approximately two years of apprenticeship (Thomas, 2020). ...
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Standardized writing measurements worldwide have consistently shown achievement gaps in writing proficiency among the examined population groups based explicitly on sociodemographic characteristics. One of the most crucial criteria for quality assessment is fairness, which means that a test should neither favor nor disadvantage students based on their characteristics. This study reviewed relevant academic literature to systematize the sociodemographic characteristics of students across different educational levels related to their performance in writing assessments. We identified 1495 articles using keywords in Web of Science, PsycINFO, Proquest and SCOPUS of which 172 were assessed for eligibility. Additionally, we conducted an abstract screening using inclusion and exclusion criteria, followed by a full-text review, identifying 97 articles of interest. Five characteristics were identified as associated with writing performance: race or ethnicity, sex, disability status, being a learner of a dominant second language, and socioeconomic status. This study discusses the implications of the persistence of these gaps in shaping future writing assessments by using proactive measures aimed at achieving fairness.
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... (Giofrè et al. 2022;Longman et al. 2007)), while in another meta-analysis, Maeda and Yoon (2013) found a larger male advantage in 3D mental rotation, as measured by the Purdue Spatial Visualization Tests (Hedges' g = 0.57). Regarding verbal abilities, evidence suggests a small male advantage in verbal and reading comprehension (d = 0.14−0.29 (Giofrè et al. 2022;Longman et al. 2007;Petersen 2018)), whereas women tend to outperform men in other verbal performance tasks such as writing (d = 0.45 (Petersen 2018)). The finding that gender differences in other areas of intelligence can be highly task-dependent calls for a nuanced and detailed investigation of the longstanding gender difference in decoding affective states. ...
... (Giofrè et al. 2022;Longman et al. 2007)), while in another meta-analysis, Maeda and Yoon (2013) found a larger male advantage in 3D mental rotation, as measured by the Purdue Spatial Visualization Tests (Hedges' g = 0.57). Regarding verbal abilities, evidence suggests a small male advantage in verbal and reading comprehension (d = 0.14−0.29 (Giofrè et al. 2022;Longman et al. 2007;Petersen 2018)), whereas women tend to outperform men in other verbal performance tasks such as writing (d = 0.45 (Petersen 2018)). The finding that gender differences in other areas of intelligence can be highly task-dependent calls for a nuanced and detailed investigation of the longstanding gender difference in decoding affective states. ...
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Gender differences in understanding the meanings of affect cues, often labeled emotion recognition, have been studied for over a century. Past reviews of the literature have concluded that girls and women score higher than boys and men on tests of accuracy in decoding affect cues, which are most often tested in the cue modalities of face, body, and content-free voice. The present meta-analysis updates knowledge on this topic by including many more studies (1188 effect sizes in 1011 studies; total N = 837,637) and examining a wide range of moderators such as health status of sample, international location, cue channels of the test, and other sample and test characteristics. Indeed, the gender difference favoring girls and women still exists, and evidence for publication bias was weak. The difference is not large (r = 0.12, d = 0.24), but it is extremely consistent across many moderators, which, even when significant, show minor differences. Health status was the only moderator to produce groups without a significant gender difference.
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... First, instead of passive paradigms with lowlevel auditory stimuli or perception of speech samples, we used a language learning paradigm that activates broader neural networks associated with language processing in a representative sample of participants. Second, our sample consisted of a roughly equal number of male and female individuals; this is essential, as the previous studies showed that male and female individuals can have different profiles with respect to language and communication abilities [42][43][44][45][46]. Third, we used a standardized formal assessment to evaluate the language skills of each child. ...
... This follow-up post-hoc analysis focused on the US group specifically, as this group demonstrated an 'intermediate' neural phenotype between the ASD and TD groups. To assess the language skills of the US group in comparison to ASD and TD groups, we fitted a linear model with main effects of group (the intercept corresponded to the US group), sex (as assigned at birth), and group × sex interaction; sex was included into the model as the previous studies showed that male and female individuals can have different profiles with respect to language and communication abilities [42][43][44][45][46]. The structure of the model was as follows: lm(CELF-4 Core Language Standard Score ~ group + sex + group × sex, data = data). ...
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Background Most children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have co-occurring language impairments and some of these autism-specific language difficulties are also present in their non-autistic first-degree relatives. One of the possible neural mechanisms associated with variability in language functioning is alterations in cortical gamma-band oscillations, hypothesized to be related to neural excitation and inhibition balance. Methods We used a high-density 128-channel electroencephalography (EEG) to register brain response to speech stimuli in a large sex-balanced sample of participants: 125 youth with ASD, 121 typically developing (TD) youth, and 40 unaffected siblings (US) of youth with ASD. Language skills were assessed with Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals. Results First, during speech processing, we identified significantly elevated gamma power in ASD participants compared to TD controls. Second, across all youth, higher gamma power was associated with lower language skills. Finally, the US group demonstrated an intermediate profile in both language and gamma power, with nonverbal IQ mediating the relationship between gamma power and language skills. Limitations We only focused on one of the possible neural contributors to variability in language functioning. Also, the US group consisted of a smaller number of participants in comparison to the ASD or TD groups. Finally, due to the timing issue in EEG system we have provided only non-phase-locked analysis. Conclusions Autistic youth showed elevated gamma power, suggesting higher excitation in the brain in response to speech stimuli and elevated gamma power was related to lower language skills. The US group showed an intermediate pattern of gamma activity, suggesting that the broader autism phenotype extends to neural profiles.
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... Boys appear to be almost five times more likely to have severe handwriting problems than girls (Vlachos and Bonoti, 2006). In addition, girls appear to outperform boys in spelling (Adams and Simmons, 2019;Allred, 1990;Berninger and Fuller, 1992;Cordeiro et al., 2018;Petersen, 2018), but we are not aware of studies that have examined the role of sex in the relation between fine motor skills and spelling. Therefore, the present study provides new insights into this interaction by showing that below-average fine motor skills have a greater adverse effect on spelling performance in girls than in boys. ...
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Background Children are using digital devices earlier and more frequently than they did years ago. At the same time fine motor skills and the spelling performance of primary school children have deteriorated over the last years. There is some evidence for a relationship between fine motor skills and spelling performance, while the role of test mode in this context is still unknown. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the relation between parent-reported fine motor skills and spelling performance in different test modes. Methods The spelling performance of German children in 3rd and 4th grade (age: 8–12 years) was examined, first in digital test mode (N = 3,453; 49.1% girls) and then in paper-pencil mode (N = 225; 44% girls). Fine motor skills were assessed using a parental questionnaire. Results The results confirm earlier findings of a positive relation between spelling performance and fine motor skills and reveal that using digital test mode leads to neither an immediate improvement nor a deterioration in spelling performance in children with low fine motor skills. Below-average fine motor skills appeared to have a more adverse effect on spelling performance in girls than in boys. Also, fine motor skills had an influence on school grade in German over and above its influence on reading and spelling abilities. Conclusion Switching from paper-pencil to digital testing does not seem to bring immediate improvement for children with low fine motor skills, but is not a disadvantage either.
View
... Differences in the level of language development between boys and girls have been widely reported in previous studies. 28 These results were consistently found even though different methods, subjects and geographical locations were used, although statistically they may not be significant. 29 A systematic review reported differences in brain structure in between genders, but these differences do not necessarily lead to differences in speech and language abilities. ...
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Background Speech and language problems are developmental disorders often observed in children. Risk factors for speech and language disorders can occur prenatally, perinatally, or postnatally. Recognizing the risk factors for speech and language problems is essential for early diagnosis and intervention. Objective To identify risk and protective factors of speech and language disorders in children. Methods This case-control study was conducted in the Growth and Development Clinic at Dr. Soetomo Hospital, Siloam Hospital, Kendangsari Merr Hospital, and Darmo Hospital, Surabaya, East Java. Subjects with normal development were included in the control group, subjects with speech-language development disorders with no additional problems were included in the primary case group, and subjects with speech-language disorders and additional problems were included in the secondary case group. Subjects underwent history-taking and developmental examinations to assess for risk factors and types of speech-language disorders. Results During March – July 2023, 162 subjects aged 2-6 years met the inclusion criteria. The significant risk factors in the primary group were male sex (P=0.000), age 2-3 years (P=0.01), and maternal age 19-35 years (P=0.018). The protective factor identified was not bilingual (P=0.046). In the secondary group, the significant risk factor was male gender (P=0.002). The protective factors obtained were absence of seizures (P=0.028) and not being bilingual (P=0.045). Conclusion Male gender is a risk factor while non-bilingual is protective for speech-language disorders in children.
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... Females tend to outperform males in tests of verbal abilities and reading comprehension (Guiso et al., 2008;Halpern and LaMay, 2000;Neubauer et al., 2005). The differences found in meta-analyses on verbal abilities is mainly small (Hirnstein et al., 2023;Petersen, 2018). According to Halpern and LaMay (2000), females demonstrate an advantage in abilities making use of verbal information in tasks that require retrieval from long-term memory. ...
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View
... For example, it may be expected that people with higher verbal ability might benefit from disfluency more than those with lower ability (Eskenazi & Nix, 2021). Further, females on average might benefit from the disfluency condition more than males, because of the robust female advantage in verbal ability shown in previous studies (Petersen, 2018;Reilly et al., 2019;Stoet & Geary, 2013). ...
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... The knowledge and aptitude for mathematics are indispensable tools in the society (Abreh et al., 2018). It is a tool that can be used in everyday life in order to solve important scientific and technological problems, helping to move towards the sustainable world (Petersen 2018;Rézio et al., 2022). Due to this, one of the most essential core subjects considered is mathematics in a school curriculum. ...
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... • Inclusion criteria: Irrespective of their inclusion, ILSA studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria of the meta-analysis (i.e., would be eligible for inclusion). Exclude: Metaanalyses that focused on national large-scale assessments (e.g., Petersen, 2018). ...
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