Understanding students’ academic preparation in math and science is critical to ensuring success in STEM subjects. Scores from 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 Czech Republic educational system. The PISA is a series of reports comparing 15-year-olds academic performance across subjects and countries. The TIMSS measures 4th and 8th grades math and science achievement across 64 countries.
2007-2023
TIMSS
According to TIMSS, the mean scores in math and science have increased in Czech Republic in the last two decades for girls and boys. Girls experienced an increase of 40 points from 2007 (483) to 2023 (523) in math and 12 points from 2007 (511) to 2023 (523) in science. Boys experienced a bigger increase of 49 points in math and 11 points in science from 2007 to 2023. The gender gap, in favor of boys, has opened up in math since 2007 (6 point difference), with boys scoring 15 points ahead of girls by 2023. In science, the gender difference has remained almost the same over the last decade, with boys outscoring girls by 7 points in 2007 and 6 points in 2023.
PISA
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD), math scores have decreased 9-14 points in Czech Republic in the last decade. The gender gap has opened up, in favor of boys, from 2012 (13 points) to 2022 (17 points) in 90th percentile scores and 8 points in mean scores. However, the gender gap has reversed since 2012 (2 points in favor of boys) in 10th percentile scores, with girls (367) scoring 3 points higher than boys (364) by 2022.
The mean, 90th, and 10th percentile scores in science have experienced slight fluctuations in Czech Republic in the last decade. Mean and 10th percentile scores have decreased 9-26 points from 2012 to 2022. A couple of the greatest changes are found in 10th percentile scores, with girls experiencing a drop of 26 points from 2012 (398) to 2022 (372) and boys experiencing a drop of 23 points from 2012 (387) to 2022 (364). The gender gap, in favor of boys, has opened up in 90th percentile scores from 2012 (3 point difference) to 2022 (8 points). However, the gender gap reversed in mean scores. In 2012, boys outperformed girls by 1 point, and girls outperformed boys by 2 points in 2018 and 2022. In 10th percentile scores, girls have historically outperformed boys in 10th percentile science scores with the gender gap closing from 2012 (11 point difference) to 2022 (8 points).
The gender differences (calculated as boys-girls) in 90th percentile scores in math has been between 9 points to 18 points in favor of boys from 2012 to 2022. The gender differences in 90th percentile scores in science has been between 4 points to 22 points in favor of boys from 2012 to 2022. The gender gap, in favor of boys, has opened up in math from 2012 (13 points) to 2022, where boys were 18 points ahead of girls.
*Gender differences calculated as boys-girls
In Czech Republic, more boys than girls performed above a level 5 proficiency level (considered top performers) in math in the last decade. In 2022, 8.8% of girls were considered top performers compared to 12.4% of boys in Czech Republic.
2023
TIMSS
In 2023, girls scored lower math and science scores than boys in Czech Republic. The gender gap, in favor of boys, in math was 15 points in 4th grade and became wider in 8th grade (20 points). 4th grade boys scored 6 points higher than girls in science. The gender gap, in favor of boys, in science opened up to 12 points by 8th grade.
2022
PISA
In Czech Republic in 2022, boys (491) scored 8 points higher in mean scores than girls (483) in math. In science, girls (499) scored 2 points higher than boys (497).
In 2022, a fewer share of girls (25.2%) than boys (25.8%) performed below a level 2 proficiency level (considered low performers) in math. More boys (12.4%) than girls (8.8%) scored at or above a level 5 proficiency level (considered top performers) in math. In science, 18.6% of girls and 21.1% of boys were considered low performers. A higher share boys (9.7%) than girls (8.3%) 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 smaller in the top quarter (7 points) of ESCS when compared to the bottom quarter (8 points) of ESCS. In science, girls and boys scored the same 437 points in the bottom quarter of ESCS, while girls outscored boys by 2 points in the top quarter.
In 2022, a higher share of girls (49.3%) were categorized as low performers from the bottom quarter of ESCS when compared to boys (47.7%) in math. A higher share of boys (27.8%) were categorized as top performers in math from the top quarter of ESCS when compared to the girls (21.1%) in the same group. In science, girls and boys who belonged to the bottom quarter of ESCS and were considered low performers comprised approximately 40% of students. The gender difference among top performers and students who belonged to the top quarter of ESCS was 2.5 percent in favor of boys.
Resources
- IEA’s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study – TIMSS 2023. Retrieved from https://timss2023.org/results
- PISA 2022 Results. Retrieved from https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/pisa_19963777
