台灣地區歷經經濟發展及教育環境變遷,高中生在選組上仍明顯存在性別差異, 且隨時間演進並無重大改變。本研究利用「台灣教育長期追蹤資料庫」(Taiwan Education Panel Survey)分析性別、學生數學能力及家庭背景對於選組的影響,我們的實證結果顯示高中生選組偏好存在相當大的歧異,其中數學成就差距是重要的解釋因素,但數學對男女的影響並不一致,而其它家庭背景變數則相對並不重要。此外雖然女性明顯較男性不傾向選擇自然組, 但性別間稟賦差距可解釋的部分只佔16%–21%, 性別間選組差異仍大部分無法由男女間稟賦不同所解釋。最後本研究結果間接反駁女生較不傾向選擇自然組, 乃因其數學能力較差所致之觀點。

Historical data indicate a significant and persistent gap between male and
female choice of major in Taiwan’s high schools. This study examines the
effects of parental socioeconomic status on the choice of major, with special attention to gender disparity and its interaction with other factors. Furthermore,using the newly released panel data from the Taiwan Education Panel Survey (TEPS), we are able to investigate the potential influence of a student’s past math achievement on the choice of major and further analyze the difference between male and female students. While math achievement is the most important factor among all variables in determining the choice of major, the impact of math is not consistent across gender. Our results indicate that the differences in endowments account for only 16%–21% of the overall gender gap. Still a considerable portion of the gender gap cannot be explained. Thus, it is inappropriate to attribute the gender difference in choice of major solely to math ability.