John Knight <johnknight at usa.com> wrote in message
news:W1lY8.59632$P%6.3954924 at news2.west.cox.net...
>http://christianparty.net/timssh09.htm> Question H09 on the 12th Grade TIMSS Math test given to 12th graders
around
> the world in 1995 reveals an astounding difference in physics
comprehension
> between the sexes in all the countries who participated. Since this was
not
> a multiple choice question, the scores don't need to be adjusted for
correct
> guesses, but they do need to be adjusted for the 3% error. Where 22.7% of
> American boys correctly answered the question, only 19.7% are known to
have
> understood the problem, and where 14.5% of American girls correctly
answered
> it, only 11.5% are known to have understood the problem. Thus 1.7 times as
> many American boys as American girls were able to demonstrate that they
> understood the problem.
>> After adjustment for the 3% error, 60.6% of Australian boys are known to
> have understood the problem, which per capita is three times as many as
> American boys and more than 5 times as many as American girls.
>> There was a direct correlation between boys' scores and sex differences.
> The percentage of boys who understood the problem increased 2% for each 1%
> increase in the "gender gap" [read: the difference between the sexes].
The
> biggest "gender gap" was in Australia (33.4%), and the highest scoring
boys
> were Australian boys (63.6%). The smallest gender gap was in Greece (3%),
> and the lowest scoring boys were Greek boys (only 6.8% correctly answered
> the question).
>> Did Greek girls benefit from this narrowing of the "gender gap"? No, they
> were the lowest scoring girls, with only 3.8% answering correctly, just
> above the 3% error. Did Australian girls get shortchanged by the failure
of
> Australia to narrow the "gender gap"? No, they were the highest scoring
> girls, at 30.2%, almost as high as the international average for boys, and
> higher than American boys.
>> While the US had one of the narrowest "gender gaps" at 8.2%, we also had
> some of the lowest scoring boys, with only French and Greek boys scoring
> lower. The boys in all other 15 countries who administered this question
> scored considerably higher than American boys.
>> John Knight
>
Well, if you like number manipulation, 0% of people answered the question
correctly, because no one took the test. The population of the universe is
0, therefore if 0% of boys and 0% of girls each answered the question
correctly, boys and girls are equal.
HAND.
T9W
