Gender gaps in mathematics and reading

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. ^{[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 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. ^[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

See also

• Gender-equality paradox

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.
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