Understanding students’ academic preparation in math and science is critical to ensuring success in STEM subjects. Scores from two international examinations, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) allow analysis of the performance of boys and girls across various grades in the German educational system. The PISA is a series of reports comparing 15-year-olds academic performance across subjects and countries. The TIMSS is a global examination that measures and compares students’ math and science achievement and their problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities across countries.
2012-2022
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD), the 90th percentile, mean, and 10th percentile scores in math have experienced slight fluctuations in Germany in the last decade. The 90th percentile, mean, and 10th percentile scores have decreased 31-40 points from 2012 to 2022. A couple of the greatest changes are found in mean scores, with girls experiencing a drop of 38 points from 2012 (507) to 2022 (469) and boys experiencing a drop of 40 points from 2012 (520) to 2022 (480).
The 90th percentile, mean, and 10th percentile scores in science have experienced slight fluctuations in Germany in the last decade. The 90th percentile, mean, and 10th percentile scores have decreased 9 to 47 points from 2012 to 2022. A couple of the greatest changes are found in 10th percentile scores, with girls experiencing a drop of 43 points from 2012 (401) to 2022 (358) and boys experiencing a drop of 47 points from 2012 (394) to 2022 (347).
The gender differences (calculated as boys-girls) in 90th percentile scores in math has been between 15 points to 21 points in favor of boys from 2012 to 2022. The gender differences in 90th percentile scores in science has been between 7 points to 20 points in favor of boys from 2012 to 2022.
*Gender differences calculated as boys-girls
More boys than girls performed above a level 5 proficiency level (considered top performers) in math in the last decade. In 2022, 6.8% of girls were considered top performers compared to 10.5% of boys in Germany.
2022
In 2022, boys (480) scored 11 points higher in mean scores than girls (469) in math. In science, the gender gap in achievement was nearly closed, with girls (492) scoring 1 point lower than boys (493) in Germany.
In 2022, more girls (30.7%) than boys (28.3%) performed below a level 2 proficiency level (considered low performers) in math. More boys (10.3%) than girls (6.8%) scored at or above a level 5 proficiency level (considered top performers) in math. In science, more boys (23.7%) than girls (22.0%) were considered low performers. However, more boys (10.5%) than girls (8.8%) scored at the top performance level.
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 much smaller in the top quarter (7 points) of ESCS when compared to the bottom quarter (20 points) of ESCS. The gender difference in science is 9 points in favor of boys in the bottom quarter of ESCS. However, in the top quarter of ESCS girls are outperforming boys by 7 points.
In 2022, a higher percentage of girls (50.6) were categorized as low performers from the bottom quarter of ESCS when compared to boys (42.2) in math. More boys (25.3%) were categorized as top performers in math from the top quarter of ESCS when compared to the girls (19.3%) in the same group. In science, girls and boys who belonged to the bottom quarter of ESCS and were considered low performers comprised almost forty percent of students. The gender difference among top performers and students who belonged to the top quarter of ESCS was 0.4 percent in favor of boys.
*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)
2018-2019
According to data from the 2019 TIMSS report, fourth-grade German boys scored 526 on the TIMSS math section, while their female counterparts scored 516. Fourth-grade boys and girls received average science scores of 520 and 516, respectively.
PISA describes students’ job aspirations in addition to academic accomplishment. Notably, 6.5% of girls aspired to become science and engineering professionals, compared to 12.1% of boys. The findings indicate that more boys are considering professions in science and engineering, prompting us to consider how we may inspire and encourage more girls to pursue STEM pathways.
Resources
- PISA 2022 Results. Retrieved from https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/pisa_19963777
- IEA’s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study – TIMSS 2019. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/timss/index.asp
- OECD (2019), PISA 2018 Results (Volume I): What Students Know and Can Do, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris.
