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Gender gaps in mathematics and reading
Child learning phenomenon

The gender gaps in mathematics and reading achievement refer to the finding that, on average, boys and girls perform differently in mathematics and reading skills on tests. On average, boys and men score somewhat better in mathematics, while girls and women score somewhat better in reading skills.

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Mathematics and reading gaps by country

The Programme for International Student Assessment assesses the performance of 15-year-olds in mathematics and reading in OECD and OECD partner countries.4 The table below lists the scores of the PISA 2009 assessment in mathematics and reading by country, as well as the difference between girls and boys. Gaps in bold font mean that the gender gap is statistically significant (p<0.05). A positive mathematics gap means that boys outperform girls, while a negative mathematics gap means that girls outperform boys. A positive reading gap means that girls outperform boys (this is true in every country, so no country has a negative reading gap). There is a negative correlation between the mathematics and reading gender gaps, that is, nations with a larger mathematics gap have a smaller reading gap and vice versa.5

CountryMathematics scoreMathematics gender gapReading scoreReading gender gap
 Colombia382 32 413 10
 Costa Rica410 26 442 14
 Liechtenstein535 24 500 32
 Belgium515 22 506 27
 UK492 21 494 26
 Chile420 21 450 22
 Austria496 20 470 41
 Luxembourg489 20 472 39
  Switzerland534 20 500 39
 US487 20 500 25
 Spain484 19 482 29
 Peru365 18 370 22
 Netherlands526 17 508 25
 Venezuela Miranda398 17 421 18
 Denmark503 16 494 29
 France497 16 495 40
 Germany512 15 498 40
 Italy482 15 487 46
 Brazil386 15 411 28
 Greece466 14 482 47
 HK554 14 534 32
 Mexico418 13 426 25
 Canada527 12 524 35
 Hungary490 12 494 38
 Portugal487 12 489 38
 Tunisia372 12 402 31
 Uruguay427 12 424 41
 Montenegro402 12 408 52
 Argentina388 11 397 36
 Turkey446 11 464 43
 Macao526 11 487 34
 Serbia442 11 442 40
 Croatia460 11 478 51
 Australia514 10 514 37
 Japan52910520 39
 Ireland4878496 39
 New Zealand5198522 45
 Israel4478474 43
 Azerbaijan431 8 362 24
 Estonia512 8 502 44
 Singapore562 6 526 31
 Czech Republic4925480 48
 Norway4985504 47
 Chinese Taipei5445496 37
 Panama3605370 33
 Korea5464540 35
 Poland4954500 49
 Romania4274424 42
 Thailand4194419 38
 Mauritius4204406 40
 Finland5403536 55
 Iceland5063500 44
 Slovakia4963478 51
 Moldova3983388 45
 Latvia4822484 47
 Russia4682460 45
 Slovenia5021484 55
 Kazakhstan4050390 43
 Indonesia372-1402 37
 Jordan386-1406 57
 Sweden494-2498 46
 China Shanghai600-2556 40
 Georgia380-3374 61
 Malaysia404-3414 35
 Bulgaria428-4430 61
 Qatar368 -5 372 50
 Kyrgyzstan331 -6 314 53
 Lithuania477 -6 468 59
 United Arab Emirates421 -6 431 58
 India Tamil Nadu350-7335 36
 Trinidad and Tobago414 -8 416 58
 Albania378 -11 386 62
 Malta462 -15 442 72

See also

References

  1. Stoet, Gijsbert; Geary, David C (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). Public Library of Science: e57988. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...857988S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057988. PMC 3596327. PMID 23516422. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3596327 ↩

  2. Geary, David C. (2010). Male, Female (2nd ed.). Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association. ↩

  3. Halpern, Diane F. (2012). Sex differences in Cognitive Abilities (4th ed.). New York: Psychology Press. ↩

  4. PISA 2009 Results: Executive Summary (PDF), OECD, 2010, retrieved 30 July 2013 http://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/46619703.pdf ↩

  5. Stoet, Gijsbert; Geary, David C (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). Public Library of Science: e57988. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...857988S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057988. PMC 3596327. PMID 23516422. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3596327 ↩