Gender gaps in mathematics and reading

The gender gaps in mathematics and reading achievement refer to the finding that, on average, the two sexes perform differently in mathematics and reading skills on tests. On average, boys and men exceed in mathematics, while girls and women exceed in reading skills.[1][2][3]

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 boys and girls. Gaps in bold font mean that the gender gap is statistically significant (p<0.05). A positive mathematics gap means that boys outperform girls, a negative mathematics gap means that girls outperform boys. A positive reading gap means that girls outperform boys (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.[1]

Country Mathematics score Mathematics gender gap Reading score Reading gender gap
 Colombia 382 32 413 10
 Costa Rica 410 26 442 14
 Liechtenstein 535 24 500 32
 Belgium 515 22 506 27
 UK 492 21 494 26
 Chile 420 21 450 22
 Austria 496 20 470 41
 Luxembourg 489 20 472 39
  Switzerland 534 20 500 39
 US 487 20 500 25
 Spain 484 19 482 29
 Peru 365 18 370 22
 Netherlands 526 17 508 25
 Venezuela Miranda 398 17 421 18
 Denmark 503 16 494 29
 France 497 16 495 40
 Germany 512 15 498 40
 Italy 482 15 487 46
 Brazil 386 15 411 28
 Greece 466 14 482 47
 HK 554 14 534 32
 Mexico 418 13 426 25
 Canada 527 12 524 35
 Hungary 490 12 494 38
 Portugal 487 12 489 38
 Tunisia 372 12 402 31
 Uruguay 427 12 424 41
 Montenegro 402 12 408 52
 Argentina 388 11 397 36
 Turkey 446 11 464 43
 Macao 526 11 487 34
 Serbia 442 11 442 40
 Croatia 460 11 478 51
 Australia 514 10 514 37
 Japan 529 10 520 39
 Ireland 487 8 496 39
 New Zealand 519 8 522 45
 Israel 447 8 474 43
 Azerbaijan 431 8 362 24
 Estonia 512 8 502 44
 Singapore 562 6 526 31
 Czech Republic 492 5 480 48
 Norway 498 5 504 47
 Chinese Taipei 544 5 496 37
 Panama 360 5 370 33
 Korea 546 4 540 35
 Poland 495 4 500 49
 Romania 427 4 424 42
 Thailand 419 4 419 38
 Mauritius 420 4 406 40
 Finland 540 3 536 55
 Iceland 506 3 500 44
 Slovakia 496 3 478 51
 Moldova 398 3 388 45
 Latvia 482 2 484 47
 Russia 468 2 460 45
 Slovenia 502 1 484 55
 Kazakhstan 405 0 390 43
 Indonesia 372 -1 402 37
 Jordan 386 -1 406 57
 Sweden 494 -2 498 46
 China Shanghai 600 -2 556 40
 Georgia 380 -3 374 61
 Malaysia 404 -3 414 35
 Bulgaria 428 -4 430 61
 Qatar 368 -5 372 50
 Kyrgyzstan 331 -6 314 53
 Lithuania 477 -6 468 59
 United Arab Emirates 421 -6 431 58
 India Tamil Nadu 350 -7 335 36
 Trinidad and Tobago 414 -8 416 58
 Albania 378 -11 386 62
 Malta 462 -15 442 72

References
  1. Stoet, Gijsbert; Geary, David C. "Sex differences in mathematics and reading achievement are inversely related: Within-and across-nation assessment of 10 years of PISA data". PLoS ONE. Public Library of Science. 8 (3): e57988. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057988. PMC 3596327. PMID 23516422.
  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
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