For math, science, boys lead on achievement tests while girls do better on classroom grades, research reveals
Despite the stereotype that boys do better in math and science, girls have made higher grades than boys throughout their school years for nearly a century, according to a new analysis published by the American Psychological Association.
“Although gender differences follow essentially stereotypical patterns on achievement tests in which boys typically score higher on math and science, females have the advantage on school grades regardless of the material,” said lead study author Daniel Voyer, PhD, of the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada. “School marks reflect learning in the larger social context of the classroom and require effort and persistence over long periods of time, whereas standardized tests assess basic or specialized academic abilities and aptitudes at one point in time without social influences.”
Based on research from 1914 through 2011 that spanned more than 30 countries, the study found the differences in grades between girls and boys were largest for language courses and smallest for math and science. The female advantage in school performance in math and science did not become apparent until junior or middle school, according to the study, published in the APA journal Psychological Bulletin. The degree of gender difference in grades increased from elementary to middle school, but decreased between high school and college.
The researchers examined 369 samples from 308 studies, reflecting grades of 538,710 boys and 595,332 girls. Seventy percent of the samples consisted of students from the United States. Other countries or regions represented by more than one sample included Norway, Canada, Turkey, Germany, Taiwan, Malaysia, Israel, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Slovakia, United Kingdom Africa and Finland. Countries represented by one sample included Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Mexico, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Jordan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Slovenia.
All studies included an evaluation of gender differences in teacher-assigned grades or official grade point averages in elementary, junior/middle or high school, or undergraduate and graduate university. Studies that relied on self-report and those about special populations, such as high-risk or mentored students, were excluded. The studies also looked at variables that might affect the students’ grades, such as the country where students attended school, course material, students’ ages at the time the grades were obtained, the study date and racial composition of the samples.
The study reveals that recent claims of a “boy crisis,” with boys lagging behind girls in school achievement, are not accurate because girls’ grades have been consistently higher than boys’ across several decades with no significant changes in recent years, the authors wrote.
“The fact that females generally perform better than their male counterparts throughout what is essentially mandatory schooling in most countries seems to be a well-kept secret, considering how little attention it has received as a global phenomenon,” said co-author Susan Voyer, MASc, also of the University of New Brunswick.
As for why girls perform better in school than boys, the authors speculated that social and cultural factors could be among several possible explanations. Parents may assume boys are better at math and science so they might encourage girls to put more effort into their studies, which could lead to the slight advantage girls have in all courses, they wrote. Gender differences in learning styles is another possibility. Previous research has shown girls tend to study in order to understand the materials, whereas boys emphasize performance, which indicates a focus on the final grades. “Mastery of the subject matter generally produces better marks than performance emphasis, so this could account in part for males’ lower marks than females,” the authors wrote.
I do believe that boys are good in science and maths compared to girls even though when it comes to the overall school marks girls turn to have higher marks than boys. The cause of this can be quiet difficult to figure out but it all come from the fact that girls are more dedicated on their school work than boys. For boys besides being scientifically and mathematically gifted they turn to loose interest toward their books and by so doing girls turn to take advantage and obtain higher marks than boys. There are also social and cultural factors which contribute on this issue like it is assumed that boys perform better academically than girls and this will give pressure to girls to study hard since they think that they are not as intelligent as boys and it will also lead boys to an extant of ignoring their books since they feel like they are intelligent and they know everything yet they actually know nothing and this will finally lead to poor performance.
This is an interesting article which highlights some important misconceptions about gender issues. While the analysis of performance on gender lines may seem warranted to counter chauvinist tendencies, the results of the analysis could be open to misrepresentation. For example, as others on this blog have argued, it is effort rather than gender that determines performance. If this thesis is accepted, then performance will be determined by output rather than gender. That girls have outperformed boys in science and maths throughout history does not imply that girls are superior. One has to guard against creating new misconceptions which could undermine our quest for a just society in which all individuals are treated equally.
Boys and girls are different in many ways. The way the live, eat, exercise and the way they decide to study or not to. As said in this article, the standardized tests are only based on a short period of time with no social influences. That be said, I think in the real world girls are just more focused on learning and working hard than boys are. Boys would much rather play sports or goof around than to sit behind a desk and work. At an older age, though, boys do awaken and also start working harder, which then enables them to achieve the same marks as girls.
In my personal opinion, gender does not effect the grade outcome for a pupil. It is all dependant on his/her study methods, time management and other factors excluding their gender. I have personally experienced that, in our class of 2013 there we’re an equal amount of boys and girls gaining distinctions in science, math and languages. The fact that a pupil excelling in a certain subject is not subjected to gender, but what how much that pupil enjoys it. Guys do like languages and girls also like science or math. One’s study methods and time management plays a crucial part in the success of that subject. It depends on if the pupil has a stronger left or right side of the brain. Students with stronger left brains is likely more subjected to excelling in visual or creative subjects such as art and languages. On the other hand students with a stronger right brain enjoys science and math more. So to conclude, it is not gender that determines the grade outcome, but the study methods, time management and which side of the brain is dominant.
As a student of a co-ed school, my personal experience has led me to infer that gender is not a deciding factor of grades. Hard work, determination and motivation are the key elements of academic excellence. It has been scientifically proven that females emotionally mature at an early age to males which can be the core reason that they are diligent, responsible and focused on their work from an early age compared to males. Also the common stereotype is that because all girls have neat handwriting and have concise notes, they understand it better. This may be true for some, but as a female, I believe that it is the perseverance to excel and also being aware of the fact that achievement is not handed on a silver platter. The other stereotype of males excelling at Maths and science because they can visualize and grasp concepts better and that females are better at understanding subjects such as literature and history. I disregard this view as I have found that my stronger subjects were Maths and sciences. It is probably the view that literature is not related to masculinity so therefore many men choose not to focus on it, relating to social norms. Gender is not a platform to determine intelligence, it is an individual who is responsible for their own achievement. My experience at high school has led me to understand that there are no gender wars but just a competition between individuals regardless of their sex.
Not all girls get better grades than all boys. Some boys preform better than girls in all subjects, I know this from personal experience. I agree that learning styles and study methods play a big roll in academic grades. Most boys like playing sports and games more than studding, while other like playing sports but still study hard. In my opinion boys like doing one thing really well while girls prevere do to a lot of things good. I also believe emotional maturity plays a roll. I would like to know if the corpus callosum plays a roll in the difference between girls and boys grades?
As scientifically proven, girls do perform better than boys academically. Girls work much harder and boys, are more diligent and are more persistent. It is much easier for a girl to put effort into her studies and to try and puzzle out work she does not understand. Whereas boys, give up easily and has little perseverance. As proven, boys do better in Maths, because they are practical and it is more fun than having to be creative and write a poetry essay for English.
Secondly, girls have a higher concentration span than boys. This might also be why girls perform better than boys do. It is much easier for a girl to sit and listen intensely to a teacher for about forty minutes than it is for a boy. Girls will listen to very word the teacher says without being distracted quickly. Boys on the other hand, are distracted much easier. This might be another reason why girls perform better in some subjects than boys..
Not all girls get better grades than all boys. Some boys preform better than girls in all subjects, I know this from personal experience. I think learning styles and study methods does play a big roll in academic grades. Most boys like playing sports and games more than studding while other like playing sports but still study hard. In my opinion boys like doing one thing really good and girls prevere to do a lot of things good. I also believe emotional maturity plays a roll. I would like to know if the corpus callosum plays a roll in the difference between girls and boys grades?
Women do not have good grades because of their gender. Intelligence, hardwork and good grades is not influenced by gender but rather by the individual and the enviroment the individual comes from, social, cultural and historial background. In the past women have been mistreated and not taken seriously. Women did not have the opportunities they have today, opportunities such as a chance to get better grades than expected, a chance to a higher education and a chance to independence, making these opportunitues more valuable to women. So women today are more driven to achieve more then whats expected of them.
In my opinion i strongly believe that anyone (despite being female or male for that matter) can achieve anything and everything when they put their mind onto it.The measure you give is the measure get.if you work hard and put in the time and effort then you are more likely to get good grades.The stereotype between boys and girls is far too overexagerated.
This article actually confirms a hunch I’ve had for sometime now. I agree that girls generally do achieve higher marks than boys with regard to ‘study subjects’ like History for example. Whereas boys have one up on us in subjects like math or science. In my opinion it is because boys are hard-wired to applying their understanding rather than being able to translate information verbatim,which girls noticeably are better at. This also explains why in university there is a trend that boys perform better academically than girls on account of the fact that the application of the work studied is key to doing well. Girls are more focused and disciplined which is why we generally do better academically than boys, who tend to be scatterbrained and less disciplined. I think this stems from cavemen days,where men as hunters were forced to apply themselves differently everyday to catch prey as the circumstances of killing and being able to take it home where different everyday. For example the type of animal,weather circumstances whether the animal lived alone or in groups,hunting terrain and so on. Whereas women cooked the same meat in the same way,maintained shelter the same way and gathered from the same kind of bushes or trees.
I personally do not believe any gender is more intellectually gifted than the other. Each individual, male or female, is gifted in their own special way.
Learning styles vary from individual to individual. Girls are perceived to being the more well advantaged sex between the two, because they mature faster than boys and this gives them an edge in developing their cognitive processes quicker than boys. Although this is true, it does not suffice for the mere fact that generally, men have been proven to being smarter than women. If women did have the upper hand, intellectually, women would be more successful in the academic fields today.
Generally, girls mature faster than boys, but intellectual capabilities cannot be based solely on the mere fact that girls mature at a faster rate. We are all different, male or female, both in physical stature and in intellectual advances.
Coming from a co-ed high school and being a male in university, I agree that girls do generally work harder than males do when it comes to their studies. I have found myself on numerous occasions asking one of my female classmates for help on one of my subjects, because I’ve found that ladies generally take better notes and understand concepts faster than most males do. With regards to males doing better in grades overall, I tend to disagree. In my experience there has been a pretty even spread of males and females who achieve high grades. I do agree that women tend to do better in the continuous assessment that takes place in schools as well as some tertiary courses and I believe this is generally due to a difference in maturity levels between the different sexes. It is a known fact that women mature emotionally a lot faster than males do. This could cause women to be more responsible about their studies than most males are, which causes them to learn more on a continuous basis rather than cramming before a test which I have on many occasions done. Males tend to work their hardest when they know that they have to.
With regards to the stereotype about males doing better in science and maths, I have found that males tend to enjoy these subjects a lot more than most females do which can account for their better performance and the opposite can also apply for languages. As a recent high school student I know for a fact that the majority of males find poetry and romantic literature to be feminine and feel disinterested or uncomfortable studying it. This is a good example of a social influence but I also believe this difference is due to the maturity gap that exists between males and females at schooling levels.
In our society today more and more women are becoming successful in many different careers that have typically been associated as being male careers such as scientists. This I believe is evidence that the hard work that they put into their studies as children pays off later on in their lives and that males could learn a thing or two from the way in which women approach their studies.
It has been thought that boys perform better than girls in Maths and science tests, merely because in the olden days, people thought girls should be taught house work instead of going to school and only boys are allowed to attend school. But now girls are encouraged to study and learn to be independent,, they get all support from parents to work hard and achieve good grades in school. So that is why girls do better in tests than boys…
It is true , boys are generally thought to do better than girls in math and science , but girls work harder than boys therefore naturally girls get higher grades . Ability to do math and science is usually related to the iron content in one’s body . As girls start their periods , they tend to drop in their performance in maths . With time and increased iron intake they do improve as naturally they are more hard working than guys.
Being a female student at a university and going to an all girl high school, I can agree that girls do work harder in order to get their grades but boys do get the higher grades in most cases without putting as much effort in.
Girls tend to work and put a lot of pressure and effort into their work and understanding it which leads to them stressing for their big tests and exams. Boys don’t stress and worry as much which results them being more calm during the exam or test. However, girls hard work and determination today pays off as there are many women scientists in highly ranked positions.
In today’s society, women refuse to follow the stereotype of being the stay at home mom, so they have been placed into the role if the ‘independent woman’ and this results in more and more women wanting to achieve more and be successful. The only way to reach those goals is to work hard and to be continuous with it
The mental capacity of each individual is different and cannot merely be determined by gender. This can be seen throughout history which includes legends of both genders. The reason why girls perform better than boys at school level mostly is because they are generally more hardworking and motivated to achieve good careers for which they need to study harder, hence they produce better result. Boys on the other hand are considered to be more practical and nonchalant when it comes to studying, therefore they do not achieve as good results as girls. From this it can be concluded that there are many other factors such as, social, cultural and even behavioral habits which influence an individual’s performance and not the gender.
I agree that boys do tend to do better at maths and science at school – this was clearly evident at our brother high school last year. I also noticed that we tended to do better than the boys in the languages. However, I don’t fully agree with the article saying that maybe parents assume that boys are better at maths and science so they encourage their girls to work harder. What I noticed was that both girls and boys parents encouraged their children to work harder, regardless of how high or low their marks were. Maybe it also has something to do with the school? I noticed that most of the boys last year were well disciplined and rather hard-working, just as we were. In fact, the two schools were constantly competing with one-another.
Girls do perform better than boys academically.
There are many reasons about why girls perform better than boys.
Girls’ attitudes towards education, work and marriage have changed drastically over the past years. Unlike the 70’s girls whose main priorities were marriage, children and house chores, the girls in the 21st century focus more on education, career opportunities, employment and amibitions. Due to the changes in the involvement of girls in the society and the increase of women’s roles at workplace, girls are now more confident, ambitious and assertive.
Girls are very interested in getting good careers and they realise they need to do well at school to achieve this. Girls are more likely to put more effort into her studies, while the boys lack of perseverance.
Learning is a relatively passive activity where the tools to practice are a book and a quiet space in which to read it. Girls have a higher concentration span, which makes it easier for them to sit, listen and focus. While the girls like to sit and chat, boys are more likely to be involved in sports and outdoor activities. Young boys tend to go out more and look for more adventurous and mischievous activies, which make them to focus less in classes.
This article has brought an insight in a matter that is not usually discussed,it could be true that boys were considered excelling in math and in science in earlier stages but times have changed now and there are a lot of women in science nowadays,some are even in higher positions than men because girls are more devoted in their work than boys are,women focus on understanding what they do rather than doing the work for the sake of getting it done.We held many debates about this issue in my primary years i am glad there is scientific support concerning this matter.