Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Article
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

The Impact of Penalties for Wrong Answers on the Gender Gap in Test Scores

By: Katherine B. Coffman and David Klinowski
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

Multiple-choice exams play a critical role in university admissions across the world. A key question is whether imposing penalties for wrong answers on these exams deters guessing from women more than men, disadvantaging female test-takers. We consider data from a large-scale, high-stakes policy change that removed penalties for wrong answers on the national college entry exam in Chile. The policy change reduced a large gender gap in questions skipped. It also narrowed gender gaps in performance, primarily among high-performing test-takers. Importantly, the gains are largely concentrated in domains characterized by historical female underrepresentation, including math, social science, and chemistry.

Keywords

Behavioral Economics; Standardized Testing; Gender; Higher Education; Prejudice and Bias

Citation

Coffman, Katherine B., and David Klinowski. "The Impact of Penalties for Wrong Answers on the Gender Gap in Test Scores." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 16 (April 21, 2020): 8794–8803.
  • Find it at Harvard

About The Author

Katherine B. Coffman

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • January 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Inclusion and Diversity at Mars Petcare

    By: Katherine Coffman and Tom Quinn
    • 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Imagining the Future: Memory, Simulation and Beliefs about COVID

    By: Pedro Bordalo, Giovanni Burro, Katherine B. Coffman, Nicola Gennaioli and Andrei Shleifer
    • March 2022
    • Faculty Research

    Inclusive Innovation at Mass General Brigham

    By: Katherine Coffman and Olivia Hull
More from the Authors
  • Inclusion and Diversity at Mars Petcare By: Katherine Coffman and Tom Quinn
  • Imagining the Future: Memory, Simulation and Beliefs about COVID By: Pedro Bordalo, Giovanni Burro, Katherine B. Coffman, Nicola Gennaioli and Andrei Shleifer
  • Inclusive Innovation at Mass General Brigham By: Katherine Coffman and Olivia Hull
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College