Australia Primary and Secondary Academic Preparation

Understanding students’ academic preparation in math and science is critical to ensuring success in STEM subjects. Scores from the international examination the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) allow analysis of the performance of boys and girls across various grades in the Australian educational system. The PISA is a series of reports comparing 15-year-olds academic performance across subjects and countries.

2012-2022

PISA

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD), the 90th, mean, and 10th percentile scores in math have decreased 9-29 points in Australia in the last decade. A couple of the greatest changes are found in 10th percentile scores, with girls experiencing a drop of 18 points from 2012 (379) to 2022 (361) and boys experiencing a drop of 29 points from 2012 (385) to 2022 (356). In 2022, girls (361) outperformed boys (356) in 10th percentile scores.

Global Australia secondary
Source: OECD, PISA 2023 Database, Table I.B1.5.38 and Table I.B1.5.39

 

90th percentile, 10th percentile and mean scores have decreased 1-30 points from 2012 to 2022. Among mean scores, girls and boys scored almost the same between 2012-2022. In 2022, girls (370) outperformed boys (358) in 10th percentile scores by 12 points. 90th percentile scores experienced a decrease of 4 points for girls and 1 point for boys between 2012 to 2022. A couple of the greatest changes are found in 10th percentile scores, with girls experiencing a drop of 24 points from 2012 (394) to 2022 (370) and boys experiencing a drop of 30 points from 2012 (388) to 2022 (358).

Global Australia secondary
Source: OECD, PISA 2023 Database, Table I.B1.5.44 and Table I.B1.5.45

 

The gender differences (calculated as boys-girls) in 90th percentile scores in math has been between 27 points to 35 points in favor of boys from 2012 to 2022. The gender differences in 90th percentile scores in science has been between 11 points to 16 points in favor of boys from 2012 to 2022.

Gender Differences in PISA 90th Percentile Scores in Australia in Math and Science in 2012-2022
Source: OECD, PISA 2023 Database, Table I.B1.5.40 and Table I.B1.5.46
*Gender differences calculated as boys-girls

 

In Australia, more boys than girls performed above a level 5 proficiency level (considered top performers) in math in the last decade. In 2022, 9.6% of girls were considered top performers compared to 14.9% of boys in Australia.

 

 

 

Global Australia secondary
Source: OECD, PISA 2023 Database, Table I.B1.5.49

 

 

AMSI

Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) uses the term “higher mathematics” in recent publications to refer to “advanced mathematics”. In 2020, while 11.9% of boys were taking a higher mathematics course, only 6.7% of girls in year 12 were enrolled in the course. On the contrary, female participation is slightly higher in year 12 intermediate mathematics, where in 2020, 16.8% of girls are enrolled in the course while 18.4% of boys are enrolled in this course.

Australia pre college higher math
Source: Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI), Wienk, M., 2022, Year 12 Mathematics Participation Report Card: Enrolments Research All Time Low.
Australia pre college intermediate math
Source: Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI), Wienk, M., 2022, Year 12 Mathematics Participation Report Card: Enrolments Research All Time Low.

In Australia in 2022, boys (493) scored 12 points higher in mean scores than girls (481) in math. In science, boys (508) scored 2 points higher in mean scores than girls (506).

Global Australia secondary
Source: OECD, PISA 2023 Database, Table I.B1.5.38, Table I.B1.5.39, Table I.B1.5.44, and Table I.B1.5.45

 

In 2022, over a quarter of  girls (26.7%) and boys (26.0%) performed below a level 2 proficiency level (considered low performers) in math. More boys (14.9%) than girls (9.6%) scored at or above a level 5 proficiency level (considered top performers) in math. In science, 18.6% of girls and 20.5% of boys were considered low performers. More boys (14.0%) than girls (11.2%) scored at the top performance level.

Global Australia secondary
Source: OECD, PISA 2023 Database, Table I.B1.4.31 and Table I.B1.4.33
*Low Performance in Math (less than 420.07 score points)
*Top Performance in Math (at or above 606.99 score points)
*Low Performance in Science (less than 409.54 score points)
*Top Performance in Science (at or above 633.33 score points)

 

In 2022, girls scored lower math scores than boys across the PISA index of economic, social and cultural status (ESCS). The gender difference (calculated as boys-girls) in math scores is greater in the top quarter (17 points) of ESCS when compared to the bottom quarter (6 points) of ESCS. The gender difference, in favor of boys, in science is 3 points in the top quarter of ESCS. Girls (460) from the bottom quarter of ESCS scored higher than boys (458) in 2022.

Global Australia secondary
Source: OECD, PISA 2023 Database, Table I.B1.4.34 and Table I.B1.4.36

 

In 2022, a higher share of girls (43.7%) were categorized as low performers from the bottom quarter of ESCS when compared to boys (42.5%) in math. More boys (29.9%) were categorized as top performers in math from the top quarter of ESCS when compared to the girls (21.2%) in the same group. In science, girls and boys who belonged to the bottom quarter of ESCS and were considered low performers comprised approximately one-third of students. The gender difference among top performers and students who belonged to the top quarter of ESCS was 4.1 percent in favor of boys.

Global Australia secondary
Source: OECD, PISA 2023 Database, Tables I.B1.4.37 and I.B1.4.39.
*Low Performance in Math (less than 420.07 score points)
*Top Performance in Math (at or above 606.99 score points)
*Low Performance in Science (less than 409.54 score points)
*Top Performance in Science (at or above 633.33 score points)

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