Complicated Gender Gaps in Mathematics Achievement: Elevated Stakes during Performance as One Explanation

Abstract

Gender gaps in mathematics achievement persist in many contexts and when visible, these gaps are paradoxical. Low-stakes measures of mathematics achievement such as grades and study behaviors favor girls, while gaps tend to reverse on assessments/competitions. We explore whether different impacts of raising performance stakes could be one explanation. Study 1 experimentally manipulated the stakes by imposing a performance-contingent, social-evaluative pressure either: before instruction (n = 66), before testing (n = 61), or none (n = 54). Pressure, particularly when experienced during instruction, reduced learning among girls. In contrast, boys trended toward enhanced learning under pressure. In the absence of pressure, girls exhibited strikingly larger gains in learning. Study 2 drew from a larger dataset (n = 386) to interrogate whether girls' superior learning in the no-pressure context might simply be an artifact of differences in prior knowledge, cognitive resources, or demographic variables, but the effect replicated and was not explained by these factors.Men and women do not differ meaningfully in mathematics aptitude (see Spelke, 2005

Gender Differences in Mathematics Achievement: The Case of a Business School in Spain

“…The meta-analysis by Voyer and Voyer (2014) does find an overall female advantage in scholastic achievement in mathematics. In line with this result, Lyons et al (2022) concluded that low-stakes measures of mathematics achievement, such as grades, favor female students, while high-stakes measures (such as the admission test) tend to reverse the gap. As Gallagher and Kaufman (2005) pointed out, females regularly get lower scores than males when considering standardized tests of mathematics, although no differences exist in the classroom.…”

“…Griselda (2020) concluded that males perform better than females in tests where there is a higher proportion of multiple-choice questions (as the test used in university admission process analyzed in this paper), but when grades are used they frequently favor girls. Similarly, Lyons et al (2022) stated that low-stakes measures of mathematics achievement (such as grades), favor female students, while high-stakes measures (such as the admission test) tend to reverse the gap. Therefore, our results are fully consistent with previous research, and suggest that the gap detected at entry is a consequence of using standardized tests.…”

Optimization of the motivation for success in mathematics at higher education: Evidence from novel graph-based visualization of three models

“…The findings of Soysal et al (2022) indicate that the level of students' confidence is the main factor to predict their mathematics anxiety. There have been numerous studies revealing gaps in mathematics performance among students (Brezavšček et al, 2020;Dossi et al, 2021;Le et al, 2023;Lyons et al, 2022;Tolley et al, 2012), but few have investigated students' motivation for mathematical success. Therefore, this research study adds to the body of the relevant academic literature by producing and integrating three mathematical models, which are developed to optimize students' motivation for mathematical success.…”