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Forty-three high-ability students were selected through tests of analytic ability at 10 and 12 years of age; school achievement data were collected when they graduated from middle school when they were 15-16 years old, and in the same year they answered a general-knowledge test and a questionnaire about their activities, attributions and self-evaluations regarding past and future achievements. The ability data showed small sex differences. Nevertheless, the 23 boys did better in most academic subjects; in mathematics 3-4 times as many boys as girls obtained top grades. Boys also excelled in general factual knowledge. Parents ' educational resources had a correlation of 0.60 with school achievement. Their academic achievements were related to the reported effort, work habits, attributions, and to the other self-evaluations. However, the superiority of boys in mathematics was not adequately explained. The quite similar superiority of boys in general factual knowledge is seen as being contra-indicative of basic cognitive processes explaining the mathematics difference and as supporting a socio-cultural interpretation. There is a need for in-depth studies of the sex differences in the effort expended in mathematics-related activities.

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