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An investigation of the Iowa tests of basic skills for sex bias: A developmental look
Author(s) -
Plake Barbara S.,
Hoover H. D.,
Loyd Brenda H.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
psychology in the schools
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1520-6807
pISSN - 0033-3085
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6807(198001)17:1<47::aid-pits2310170110>3.0.co;2-4
Subject(s) - psychology , vocabulary , statistical significance , grade level , reading comprehension , developmental psychology , reading (process) , statistical analysis , mathematics education , statistics , linguistics , philosophy , mathematics
Results of the Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, and Mathematics Concepts subtests for third‐, sixth‐, and eighth‐grade students who took Form 5 of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills in the 1976 school year were analyzed for sex bias. Statistical significance was found for each subtest for all of the grade levels. Follow‐up analyses considered skill classification, sex‐stereotypicalness, and item location of the items contributing to the statistical significance. No trends for these factors were found within each grade level for the four subtests considered. For all subtests, fewer items are identified at the third‐grade level than for sixth or eighth grade, and these items, in general, favored boys. For the older students, when items are found to function differently for boys and girls, nearly half favor each sex. On the whole, little evidence for sex bias was found for the four subtests and three grade levels examined.