Gender Gap in Math Achievement Emerges Just Four Months After Starting Elementary School

French Research Team Reports: "Gap Widens with Schooling"
Sociocultural Stereotypes Seem to Have an Impact

The mathematical achievement levels of boys and girls are similar in early childhood, but a gap begins to emerge just four months after entering elementary school and gradually widens over time.

On June 12 (local time), international media outlets such as Spain's El Pais reported on the findings of a paper published in the scientific journal Nature by Dr. Pauline Martino's team at Universite Paris Cite in France.

The research team analyzed the language and mathematics assessment results of 2,653,082 children aged 5 to 7 in first and second grade nationwide who participated in France's national academic evaluation program conducted from 2018 to 2022.

The analysis showed that during infancy and early childhood, boys and girls demonstrated roughly similar levels of knowledge regarding numbers and spatial concepts. Even at the beginning of elementary school, there was almost no difference in the average mathematics scores between male and female students. However, after just four months, a clear disparity began to emerge, with boys outperforming girls. By the start of the second grade, this gap had widened to about four times the initial difference.

The effect size of the gender difference at the start of second grade was analyzed to be approximately 0.20. This indicates that the gender gap in mathematics achievement, which began to appear after four months, expanded to a statistically significant level after eight months.

The gender gap in mathematics achievement among first and second graders was consistently observed throughout France, regardless of socioeconomic status, test type, or whether the school was public or private. Furthermore, this gap tended to increase as schooling progressed, rather than being determined by age.

The research team explained, "These results indicate that the point and place at which the gender gap in mathematics begins to favor boys is precisely the first year of school enrollment," adding, "This clearly identifies the moment when interventions to address the gender gap in mathematics achievement should be considered."

Additionally, the team pointed out that this gender gap appears to reflect the sociocultural stereotype that 'girls are not good at mathematics.' The stereotype that 'boys are better at mathematics than girls' actually affects girls' mathematics performance and confidence.

The team continued, "However, it remains unclear exactly when, where, and to what extent such stereotypes became widespread."

The researchers added, "While this study has limitations in identifying specific mechanisms that explain the causes of the gender gap, it suggests that policymakers should consider interventions as early as possible, such as in kindergarten, to address the gender gap in mathematics achievement."