A MESA Project Research Paper The University Gender Gap: The Role of High School Grades Torben Drewes Trent University MAY 2009 Educational Policy Institute Queen’s University School of Policy Studies Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation The University Gender Gap: The Role of High School Grades The MESA Project The Measuring [...] OUAC data, 2005 The YITS data does not contain unsuccessful applications for admission to university but does contain high school grades for all individuals, whether or not they were applicants. Table 1 reports the distribution of high school grades by gender. To illustrate how rationing by grades might produce the observed gender gap, suppose that all males and females wanted to go to un [...] Without PISA With PISA score score Mean Prediction for Females 78.945 78.957 Mean Prediction for Males 75.922 75.930 Raw Difference 3.023 3.027 Due to Different Effort Levels 1.598 1.335 Due to Differences in Other Endowments ‐0.153 1.052 Total Due to Endowments 1.445 2.387 Due to Differences in Coefficients 1.577 0.64 (evaluated at Females’ Means) Source: [...] Mathematics Language Mean Prediction for Females 74.995 79.592 Mean Prediction for Males 74.536 74.892 Raw Difference 0.459 4.700 Due to Different Effort Levels 1.132 1.235 Due to Differences in Other Endowments ‐0.128 ‐0.071 Total Due to Endowments 1.004 1.106 Due to Differences in Coefficients ‐0.545 3.594 (evaluated at Females’ Means) Source: YITS, Co [...] S. Differences in University Enrollment Rates,” in Higher Education in Canada. ed. C. Beach, R. Boadway and R. McInnis, Kingston: McGill‐Queens' University Press, 2005: 369‐413. Frenette, M. 2002. “Too Far To Go On? Distance to School and University Participation,” Research Report 11F0019MIE – No. 191, Ottawa: Statistics Canada. Frenette, M. and K. Zeema