The mathematics sex difference is practically non-existent among low performers and largest among high performers, where boys outnumber girls up to 2.7:1 above the 99th percentile¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 2 studies · 2 associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2013 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2018: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q3 i? At the bottom 5% of the mathematics distribution the sex difference ranged from 1.9 points favoring girls (2003) to 2.4 points favoring boys (2006), while at the high end boys scored 19.3 to 21.7 points higher. → Stoet G 2013 q3 i? For the 33 countries in all four assessments, the boys-to-girls ratio was 1.7–1.9:1 above the 95th percentile and 2.3–2.7:1 above the 99th percentile in mathematics. → Stoet G 2013 (2)

Evidence¶

Stoet G 2013¶

Stoet G, Geary DC (2013) Sex Differences in Mathematics and Reading Achievement Are Inversely Related: Within- and Across-Nation Assessment of 10 Years of PISA Data. PLoS ONE 8(3): e57988. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0057988

q3 · i? · associational · r2

PISA percentile analysis of mathematics sex differences across the four assessments. The bottom 5% showed differences of "a 1.9 point difference (2003), favoring girls, to a 2.4 point difference (2006), favoring boys", versus 19.3–21.7 points favoring boys at the high end.

"Comparing the bottom 5% of boys (relative to all other boys) to the bottom 5% of girls (relative to all other girls), the difference in mathematics achievement ranged from a 1.9 point difference (2003), favoring girls, to a 2.4 point difference (2006), favoring boys. In contrast, boys scored from 19.3 (2006) to 21.7 points (2003) higher than girls at the high end of performance."

Stoet G 2013 (2)¶

Stoet G, Geary DC (2013) Sex Differences in Mathematics and Reading Achievement Are Inversely Related: Within- and Across-Nation Assessment of 10 Years of PISA Data. PLoS ONE 8(3): e57988. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0057988

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Boys-to-girls ratio analysis (Table 1) for the 33 countries in all four assessments: "a ratio of 1.7–1.9:1" above the 95th percentile and "a 2.3–2.7:1 ratio" above the 99th percentile. The article links high-end ratios to overrepresentation of men in STEM.

"For the 33 countries that participated in all four of the PISA assessments (i.e., 2000, 2003, 2006, and 2009), a ratio of 1.7–1.9:1 was found for students achieving above the 95th percentile, and a 2.3–2.7:1 ratio for students scoring above the 99th percentile."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Gender — predictor: outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause

Related Claims¶

• Across nations, boys outperform girls in mathematics by a small average margin while girls outperform boys in reading by a margin three times larger — a broader claim this one bears on
• The inverse relation between mathematics and reading sex differences also holds within nations across the performance continuum — related
• The mathematics sex difference favoring boys is more consistently found among higher-achieving nations, with considerable variability among lower-scoring countries — related
• National gender-equality and human-development indicators show no consistent correlation with sex differences in mathematics or reading across the decade — related
• Boys are more likely than girls to rank at both the top and the bottom of the grade scale, supporting greater variability of excellence among boys — related