The gender gap and discriminating power in the National Curriculum Key Stage three science assessments in England and Wales

Data from a large sample of year 9 (13-14 years) students taking the nation al Key Stage 3 science tests in England and Wales were used to explore gend er differences in science achievement. The most pronounced gender differenc es, which were in favour of males, were found in the higher level papers ta ken by more able students, with the largest gender gaps occurring in physic s questions. Using separate male and female discrimination indices, it was found that the more discriminating questions tended to exhibit larger gende r gaps in favour of males.