Boys outperform girls on algebra word problems, function mapping, equation memory, and arithmetic fluency, with no sex differences on other mathematics measures¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2023 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i2 Boys scored higher than girls on the Algebra Word problem test (d = .51), Function Mapping (d = .28), Equation Memory (d = .23), and Arithmetic Fluency (d = .26), with no other mathematics-measure sex differences. → Geary David C. 2023

Evidence¶

Geary David C. 2023¶

Geary David C., Hoard Mary K., Nugent Lara, Ünal Zehra E. (2023). Sex Differences in Developmental Pathways to Mathematical Competence. Journal of Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000763

q3 · i2 · associational · r2

Mean sex differences in the longitudinal study of 342 adolescents (169 boys) assessed from 6th to 9th grade, reported in the Results sex-differences section. The article prints the effect size d = .51 for the Algebra Word problem test, the largest of the four advantages.

"Boys performed better than girls on the Algebra Word problem test (d = .51), Function Mapping measure (d = .28), Equation Memory (d = .23), and Arithmetic Fluency (d = .26), but there were no other sex differences on the mathematics measures (ps > .05)."

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 learning benefit of mathematics test practice is larger for boys than for girls — related
• The mathematics sex difference favoring boys is more consistently found among higher-achieving nations, with considerable variability among lower-scoring countries — related
• No significant gender difference in word-problem performance on either formatted or unformatted test forms — reports the opposite