The Effects of Time and Direction Changes on the SAT Performance of Academically Talented Adolescents

In an attempt to explain the gender gap in Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, a study tested the effects of changing time limits and directions on the performance of academically talented males and females. Students took either the SAT-Math subtest (n = 46 males and 27 females) or the SAT-Verbal subtest (n = 36 males and 33 females) under Timed or Untimed conditions and with Standard or Non-standard Directions. Analyses involved comparisons of performance by gender under the experimental conditions. Resulting trends indicated differences on the basis of time and gender on the SAT-M subtest. Further analysis revealed several patterns which could potentially explain reasons for performance differences outside of ability. No significant differences were found on the SAT-V subtest. Discussion of study results include the reasons why performance on the SAT-M may not reflect pure ability and the efficacy of using the SAT-M with its current time limit to identify academic talent.