The Effect of Sex-Dependent Norms on Aggregated Reading and Mathematics Test Scores

Differences between school reading and mathematics means, rank orderings, and change scores obtained from total-group and sex-dependent normS were examined. Small mean differences were found in approximately 10 percent of the cases, and shifts in rank order were neither widespread nor large. Moreover, the majority of sex-dependent change scores of schools with a 20 percent or greater shift in the proportion of boys over a two-year period were larger than the corresponding total-group values. These findings did not justify the use of sex-dependent norms for such purposes as program evaluations, merit school award programs, and longitudinal comparisons of schools.