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 4th grade students’ math and science achievement and their problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities across 64 countries.
2012-2022
TIMSS
According to TIMSS, the mean scores in math and science have decreased in Germany in the last two decades for fourth grade girls and boys. Girls experienced a decrease of 2 points from 2007 (519) to 2023 (517) in math and a decrease of 4 points from 2007 (520) to 2023 (516) in science. Boys experienced a smaller decrease of 1 point in math and a decrease of 20 points in science from 2007 to 2023. The gender gap, in favor of boys, has opened up in math since 2007 (12 point difference), with boys scoring 13 points ahead of girls by 2023. However, in science the gender gap reversed in 2023. In 2007, the gender gap was 15 points in favor of boys. By 2023, girls outperformed boys by 1 point.
PISA
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
PISA
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.
*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 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
PISA
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.