More girls than boys take the PSAT test. But National Merit officials argued that the test simply demonstrates that more boys than girls are among the top students nationwide. But we think they should be trying to rectify whatever is causing the difference, rather than blasting the test. FairTest did not challenge individual questions as unfair, but rather relied on statistical evidence. In 1989, a federal District Court in New York lent some credence to arguments of bias in the tests.
Women also score slightly lower on the verbal portion of the test.
Some experts suggested that women do worse on the tests because of social and historical factors that give boys an edge in test taking. We raise boys to be outspoken and aggressive and we raise girls to be passive. Officials at the Educational Testing Service, which produces the PSAT, defended their test, but stressed that its purpose is not to be a measure for scholarships. But state lawyers said BEST requires only a 12th-grade education to pass, and measures the minimum skills and knowledge that teachers and administrators need. It as established by a state law passed in 1982, a time when numerous reports were raising concerns about teacher competency, and many states were passing similar laws.