Gruppskillnader i Provresultat : uppgiftsinnehållets betydelse för resultatskillnader mellan män och kvinnor på prov i ordkunskap och allmänorientering

Sammanfattning: The present monograph deals with the problem of sex differences in test results from various angles. Initially, the aim was to investigate whether the use of test results in selection could be considered fair in spite of sex differences in test score averages. As work progressed, the aim was specified towards clarifying in what manner test item content is related to sex differences in results and whether the observed differences are consistent over different groupé of men and women.After a brief review of some research results on sex differences in cognitive abilities, the Swedish Scholastic Aptitude Test (SSAT) is described. The SSAT is the measuring instrument in the following empirical studies. In chapter four there is a survey of a number of models which aim at correcting for unfair group differences in test scores when the tests are to be used in selection. Two models are examined empirically. In chapter five such models are examined that aim to identify individual test items giving deviant results. The conclusion of these two studies is that statistical models can not solve the problem of group differences in test scores, since what constitutes fairness is mainly a value problem. This cannot be dealt with in a strictly technical manner. Chapter six is devoted to analyses of test item content and sex differences in all subtests on vocabulary and general knowledge which have been used in the SSAT between 1977 and 1983. The conclusion from these analyses is that test item content seems to determine whether men or women obtain higher test scores. Some subcategories of items seem to favour men and others favour women. The extent to which the testees are able to predict which items favour one sex or the other is studied in chapter seven. The testees could only make appropriate judgements to a very limited extent. In chapter eight the significance of age and education for sex differences in test scores is studied. Furthermore, sex differences on individual items are studied for men and women having the same score on the subtest level. Sex differences in scores on individual test items could not be eliminated by equalizing age, education or subtest achievement respectively. Finally, the results from all the studies are summarized and discussed in view of their significance for the validity of the tests.