INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES,
ENGINEERING & PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES

Amani Badawy

Cairo University, Egypt

The purpose of this study was to find the extent of sex differences in the scores of 31,086 Egyptian graduate students on an EFL proficiency test administered at Cairo University in Egypt. It explored differences between males’ and females’ scores on listening, structure and reading and followed the gap over five years. The sample included 16,490 females and 14,587 males. The percentages of test takers’ high scores were compared and the t-test was run to evaluate differences. Women outperformed men in the three skills, and the differences were highly significant in listening comprehension and structure over the five years and in reading over a three-year period. Performance on reading lagged behind listening and structure. Scores on listening and structure went in a series of highs and lows which reflected year-to-year instability while reading showed overall steadiness. Lastly, while the gap between males and females slightly widened after five years in reading, it remained almost unchanged in structure and listening showing that male underachievement persisted.