Gender-based math gap missing in some countries

From Jerry Becker

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From The Associated Press [USA Today], Thursday, May 29, 2008. Seehttp://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-05-29-math-gender-gap_N.htm. Abstract of this article appeared on the SmartBrief listserve,Monday, June 2, 2008. The whole original article in Science can beviewed athttp://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/sci;320/5880/1164?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=culture%2C+gender%2C+and+math&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT

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Gender-based math gap missing in some countries

WASHINGTON (AP) - Boys outperform girls on a math test given tochildren worldwide, but the gender gap is less pronounced incountries where women and men have similar rights and opportunities,according to a study published Thursday."In more gender-neutral societies, girls are as good as boys inmathematics," study author Paola Sapienza said in an interview.The issue of a gender gap in math has been hotly debated, with somesuggesting biology may be behind higher scores for boys on some testsand others pointing to environmental and cultural factors.Sapienza, a professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School ofManagement, examined the results of boys and girls on the Program forInternational Student Assessment. That test is given to 15-year-oldsaround the world every three years.Among 40 countries studied, Iceland was the only one where girls didbetter than boys on the math test.In about a dozen countries, both sexes scored about the same. In manyof those places, like in Iceland, men and women have similaropportunities and rights, according to the study, which was publishedin the journal Science.To assess gender equality, Sapienza looked at several measures,including the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index, whichconsiders economic, educational and political opportunities for women.The United States fell in the middle of the pack in terms of bothequality for women and the gender gap in math.There are a few countries where girls don't have the sameopportunities as boys, but girls score about the same as boys on themath test, the report found. These included Indonesia and Thailand.There also are countries, such as Germany, where there is a lot ofgender equality but where a girl-boy math gap exists anyway. Thestudy did not attempt to explain such anomalies.The study was reviewed by a panel of outside experts.In reading, girls outperformed boys on the PISA exam in every countrystudied. That gap does not shrink but widens in places where womenare said to have a lot of equality with men."The math gap disappears, and the reading gap becomes even bigger,"Sapienza said.The study didn't look at the reasons behind those trends.Former Harvard University President Lawrence Summers ignited debateover gender gaps a few years ago year when he suggested innatedifferences between the sexes might help explain why comparativelyfew women excelled in science and math careers.The PISA exam is different from other tests in that it assesses howwell students can apply mathematical reasoning to real-worldsituations rather than testing their knowledge of math content.*************************************************

--Jerry P. Becker

Dept. of Curriculum & Instruction

Southern Illinois University

625 Wham DriveMail Code 4610

Carbondale, IL 62901-4610