SEX DIFFERENCES IN SAT® SCORES
Authors: Burton Nancy W. , Lewis Charles , Robertson Nancy 
Published: September 2014

After adjusting for differences in background, women's average SAT‐verbal scores were found to be higher than, or nearly equal to, men's. Although women's average SAT‐mathematical scores after adjustment are still lower than men's, they are 25 points higher when adjusted for background. This report's analysis establishes that the background differences between men and women are significantly related to verbal and mathematical score differences.

The research looked at samples of students in the high school classes of 1975, 1980, and 1985 who had taken the SAT. Without controlling for background variables, the average SAT scores in these samples were:

VerbalMathematical• In 1975:Women441461Men441501• In 1980:Women428448Men439499• In 1985:Women436457Men448510

DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES

The authors had predicted that several demographic trends in the SAT population would be related to trends in both SAT‐verbal and SAT‐mathematical average scores. The background variables considered by the research were:

Ethnic group: American Indian, Asian American, black, Mexican American, Puerto Rican, white, and other

Socioeducational status: the only variable available was self‐reported family income

Basic academic high school curriculum: those who have at least four years of English, three years of math, two years of science, and two years of social science, versus those who lack one or more of these basic courses

Proposed college major: math/science, business, biological sciences, arts, vocational/technical, humanities, social sciences, and other.

Trends in these variables differ among different segments of the SAT population. For example, more women SAT‐takers than men are from ethnic minorities, but the proportion of minority group members among both women and men grew over the decade 1975–1985. The proportion of low‐socioeducational status women grew during the decade, while the number of academically underprepared women (that is, women who lack the basic curriculum defined above) declined. Still, the plurality of women in the SAT population comes from less well‐prepared, less‐privileged categories.

When adjusted for the background variables, the average SAT scores are:

VerbalMathematical• In 1975:Women447474Men435488• In 1980:Women437459Men435486• In 1985:Women438459Men440489

TREND DIFFERENCES REMAIN

Even with the adjustments, however, the trend in differences between female and male average SAT scores remain. The adjustments raised the trend line for the difference in the means by nearly 10 points verbal and 25 points mathematical in each year studied, but they did not change the downward direction of the trend. In the hypothetical demographically adjusted group of men and women, women's average verbal score was estimated at 13 points above the men's in 1975; by 1985, women's average verbal score was estimated at 2 pointsbelowmen's.

The major findings of this study suggest that no more than a small part of the verbal and mathematical trend is due to demographic changes in the population of test takers. It becomes more likely that at least the SAT‐verbal trend is due to a change in the way women and men are being educated.

In fact, trends from studies of other verbal tests support this conclusion. This includes tests of verbal reasoning, vocabulary, reading, and English composition at ages ranging from fourth grade to graduate school, and in a number of different testing programs, and both self‐selected groups and scientific surveys. No matter what the overall level of performance, women's average verbal scores have been declining relative to men's.

The results of this study are also consistent with those of women's mathematical abilities relative to men's. However, there have been fewer studies of the higher‐level mathematical abilities measured by the SAT. Further research on gender differences in mathematical skills is suggested.