Gender Gap in Reading

This report examined 3 decades of U.S. student achievement in reading and writing from the National Assessment of Educational Progress to determine the magnitude of gender differences, and whether these were declining over time. Examination of effect sizes found a developmental progression from initially small gender differences in Grade 4 toward larger effects as students progress through schooling. Differences for reading were small-to-medium, medium-sized for writing, and were stable over the historical time. Additionally, there were pronounced imbalances in gender ratios at the lower left and upper right tails of the ability spectrum. Language and verbal abilities represent one exception to the general rule of gender similarities, and the researchers discuss the educational implications of these findings.

Reilly, D., Neumann, D. L., & Andrews, G. (2018). Gender differences in reading and writing achievement: Evidence from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). American Psychologist. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000356

Gender Gap for High Achievement Levels in Math

Researchers from MIT found that girls generally are underrepresented in math competitions. Their study uses a new data source, American Mathematics Competitions, to examine the gender gap among high school students at very high achievement levels. According to their study, they looked at gender trends in math competitions and found that peer pressure may be one reason for the gender gap. The highest achieving girls in the U.S. are concentrated in a very small set of elite schools, suggesting that almost all girls with the ability to reach high math achievement levels are not doing so. The implications from this study call for further research in this area of study to explore the drastic gender gap in high achievement levels for math.

Ellison, G., & Swanson, A. (2009). The gender gap in secondary school mathematics at high achievement levels: Evidence from the American mathematics competitions. Cambridge, MA: MIT. http://economics.mit.edu/files/4298 

Women and digital divide report

A recent report urges technology companies, policymakers and nongovernmental organizations to do more over the next three years to boost Internet access among women and girls in developing countries. "Women's lack of access is giving rise to a second digital divide, one where women and girls risk being left further and further behind," said Melanne Verveer of the US State Department.

The report points to stubborn gaps in women's access to the Internet in Africa, the Middle East and other developing parts of the world. It found women are nearly 25 percent less likely than men to be online in those regions, and called on policymakers and technology companies to take steps such as making it easier to access the Internet on mobile phones, allowing free mobile content and boosting digital literacy to shrink the gap.

Intel. (2013). Women and the web. Santa Clara, CA: Intel.

 http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/technology-in-education/women-in-the-web.html.html

Female math anxiety research

Women teachers could be passing their math anxiety on to girls, according to University of Chicago researchers who surveyed the attitudes of female first- and second-grade teachers about math. Researchers found that girls with teachers who were uneasy about the subject were more likely to believe that boys were better than girls at math. Female students who believed the stereotype scored lower than other students on math tests, the study found.
Sian Beilock & Susan Levine. Female Teachers' Math Anxiety Affects Girls' Math Achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.