The evolution of the gender test score gap through seventh grade: New insights from Australia using quantile regression and decomposition

This paper documents the patterns of and examines factors contributing to a gender test score gap in five test subjects in early seven grades of schooling using a recent and nationally representative panel of Australian children. Regression results indicate that females excel at writing and grammar at later grades whereas males outperform females in numeracy in all grades, whether at the mean or along the distribution of the test score. Our results also reveal a widening gender test score gap in writing and numeracy as the students advance their schooling. Regression and decomposition results also highlight the importance of controlling for pre-school cognitive skills in examining the gender test score gap.