This study investigated (a) mathematics achievement (Test of Academic Progress) of 589 female and 644 male, predominantly white, 9th-12th grade students enrolled in mathematics courses from four schools, controlling for mathematics background and general ability (Quick Word Test); (b) relationships to mathematics achievement, and to sex-related differences in mathematics achievement, of spatial visualization (Differential Aptitude Test), eight attitudes measured by the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales, a measure of Mathematics Activities outside of school, and number of Mathematics Related Courses and Space Related Courses taken. Complex results were obtained. Few sex-related cognitive differences but many attitudinal differences were found. Analyses of variance, covariance, correlation, and principal components analysis techniques were used. The results showed important relationships between socio-cultural factors and sex-related cognitive differences.

Sex-related defferences in mathematics achievement, spatial visualization, and affective factors

In this article, we use meta-analysis to analyze gender differences in recent studies of mathematics performance. First, we meta-analyzed data from 242 studies published between 1990 and 2007, representing the testing of 1,286,350 people. Overall, d = 0.05, indicating no gender difference, and variance ratio = 1.08, indicating nearly equal male and female variances. Second, we analyzed data from large data sets based on probability sampling of U.S. adolescents over the past 20 years: the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth, the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, the Longitudinal Study of American Youth, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Effect sizes for the gender difference ranged between -0.15 and +0.22. Variance ratios ranged from 0.88 to 1.34. Taken together, these findings support the view that males and females perform similarly in mathematics.

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New Trends in Gender and Mathematics Performance: A Meta-Analysis

This study examined gender differences in self-regulation in the fall and spring of kindergarten and their connection to gender differences in 5 areas of early achievement: applied problems (math), general knowledge, letter-word identification, expressive vocabulary, and sound awareness. Behavioral selfregulation was measured using both an objective direct measure (N = 268; Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task) and, for a subsample of children, a teacher report of classroom self-regulatory behavior (n = 156; Child Behavior Rating Scale). Results showed that girls outperformed boys in both assessments. Although gender differences in self-regulation were clear, no significant gender differences were found on the 5 academic achievement outcomes, as measured by the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement. Self-regulation consistently predicted math and sound awareness, although links were stronger with the direct measure as compared with teacher reports. Implications for understanding the role of gender and self-regulation in early and later academic achievement and the role of self-regulation in particular areas of achievement are discussed.

https://psycnet.apa.org/journals/edu/101/3/689.pdf

Early gender differences in self-regulation and academic achievement.

Teaching in the knowledge society: education in the age of insecurity

A meta-analysis of 187 studies containing 247 independent studies (N = 68,429) on gender differences in academic self-efficacy identified an overall effect size of 0.08, with a small difference favoring males. Moderator analysis demonstrated that content domain was a significant moderator in explaining effect size variation. Females displayed higher language arts self-efficacy than males. Meanwhile, males exhibited higher mathematics, computer, and social sciences self-efficacy than females. Gender differences in academic self-efficacy also varied with age. The largest effect size occurred for respondents aged over 23 years old. For mathematics self-efficacy, the significant gender differences emerged in late adolescence. Future research should longitudinally examine gender differences in academic self-efficacy to determine the prevalence of gender differences during different life stages.

Gender differences in academic self-efficacy: a meta-analysis

Student survey results from Canada's first, national, large-scale assessment of school literacy are analysed for explanations of gender differences in reading and writing skills found in this and other recent Canadian large-scale assessments. Using findings from the 1994 Council of Ministers of Education, Canada School Achievement Indicators Programme, we explore English-Canadian adolescents' literacy preferences, attitudes and practices. Five models derived from recent literacy education and related educational research are posited as potential explanations for female superiority in literacy test results: 'division of family labour', 'character-personification', 'classroom interaction', 'assessment bias' and 'identification with genre'. The assumptions underlying these models are examined in light of the Council of Ministers of Education's study.

Surveying Gender Differences in Canadian School Literacy.

Gender equity initiatives in schools, curricula, and resources, especially reading materials, are intended to resolve equity problems that have withheld opportunity for female students. However, recent literacy assessments in Canada and other parts of the world reveal differential patterns in males' and females' achievement in reading and writing. Females outperform males in all areas of reading and writing at the elementary, middle, and secondary levels, and this literacy gap does not narrow or close with age. Males are disadvantaged in literacy by the time they complete high school. In this article we offer

Rethinking Gender Differences in Literacy.

Because of its centrality to school success, social status, and workplace effectiveness, oral and aural skills development has been increasingly emphasized in Canadian curricula, classrooms and, very recently, large‐scale assessment. The corresponding emphasis on group processes and collaborative learning has aimed to address equity issues in schools. However, a 1998 Canadian assessment of students' speech communication skills ( N  =  551 groups) yielded many significant gender differences in individual listening skills, group production, and self‐efficacy. The oral production in small groups of majority‐ or all‐male groups lagged significantly behind that of all‐female groups. The girl–boy gaps in oracy parallel those evident for literacy in provincial (state), national and international studies among adolescents. Implications are drawn for social constructivist pedagogy, for curricular, instructional, and evaluation practices, and for redressing gender differences.

Gender gaps in group listening and speaking: issues in social constructivist approaches to teaching and learning

Validity of Performance Assessment in Mathematics for Early Adolescents

This qualitative, multiple case study draws into question claims that teacher involvement in large‐scale assessment is professionally debilitating. Four teacher‐scorers of reading in the 1998 Council of Ministers of Education, Canada's School Achievement Indicators Programme national literacy assessment were interviewed pre‐, during, and post‐marking in terms of their personal and professional motivations for participation, their perception of the role of such evaluations in classroom practice, their self‐concept as autonomous professionals, and the impact of such evaluations on their relationships with colleagues, students, and administrators. Teachers reported that active participation in marking served to clarify rather than corrode their pedagogical values, affirmed or improved their classroom assessment and instructional practices, validated their self‐perceptions as professionals, and had a neutral or negligible impact on school relationships. It is concluded that involvement in low‐stakes, large‐sc...

Darryl Hunter

Papers

Surveying Gender Differences in Canadian School Literacy.

Rethinking Gender Differences in Literacy.

Gender gaps in group listening and speaking: issues in social constructivist approaches to teaching and learning

Validity of Performance Assessment in Mathematics for Early Adolescents

Teacher Scoring of Large-Scale Assessment: Professional Development or Debilitation?.