This study examined the ICT skills of Finnish upper comprehensive school
students. The data has been collected from 65 municipalities around Finland
for 5455 ninth graders (mean age 15.24). ICT skills were measured using a
digital, performance-based ICT skill test. The test was based on the revised
Finnish national core curriculum for basic education. Based on the results,
there was a small, but statistically, significant difference between the genders
in the total scores on the ICT skill test. More consequential differences between
the genders were found in the item level analysis. As explicit item level analysis
indicated, boys tended to get better scores from more technical-oriented items,
while girls got better scores from school work-oriented and social interactionrelated
items. The results emphasize that gender differences in ICT skills are
more item specific than general. More importantly, the variation between
individuals in ICT skill items was extensive and in all likelihood more
influential than the gender difference as such.