| Sumario: | The article analyzes whether males and females achieved equally when they all took a required course in economics. Studies of achievement in introductory college level economics courses have frequently concluded that females perform at a lower level than their male counterparts. While it has been generally assumed that male achievement is greater than female in secondary economics classes, there is evidence that such a belief no longer is justified. Studies have found that initial sex differences disappear from pre to post tests and that female students do as well as male students when both have completed a high school course in economics. These data indicate that for the most part, female and male students in secondary economics classes do equally well, when achievement is measured by grades obtained in the course. In the few classes where there is a difference, females tend to do better than males. Since achievement in economics has generally been measured by scores on standardized tests rather than by grades, the second, part of the study examined test scores. There were no statistically significant differences by class or for the total between the female and male students' scores on the Test of Economic Literacy.
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