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 Ireland’s 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.
2011-2023
TIMSS
According to TIMSS, the mean scores in math and science have increased in Ireland in the last two decades for girls and boys. Girls experienced an increase of 16 points from 2011 (526) to 2023 (542) in math and 18 points from 2011 (516) to 2023 (534) in science. Boys experienced a bigger increase of 20 points in math and 14 points in science from 2011 to 2023. The gender gap, in favor of boys, has opened up in math since 2011 (3 point difference), with boys scoring 7 points ahead of girls by 2023. In science in 2011, boys and girls scored the same points (516). Although the gender gap favored boys in 2015 and 2019, girls outscored boys by 4 points in 2023.
According to TIMSS, the mean scores in math have gone through fluctuations in Ireland in the last two decades for 8th grade girls and boys. Girls experienced a decrease of 7 points from 2015 (521) to 2023 (514) in math and boys experienced an increase of 2 points from 2015 (526) to 2023 (528). Despite girls scoring higher than boys in math in 2019 by 1 point, the gender gap has widened, in favor of boys in 2023 (14 point difference). Scores in science dropped 11 points for girls and remained the same (529) for boys from 2015 to 2023. Although girls outperformed boys by 2-5 points in science from 2015-2019, the gender gap reversed in 2023, where boys scored 9 points ahead of girls in science by 2023.
PISA
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD), math scores have decreased 9-20 points in Ireland for boys and girls in the last decade, except for girls 10th percentile scores which experienced an increase of 1 point from 2012 (387) to 2022 (388). The gender gap has opened up, in favor of boys, from 2012 (19 points) to 2022 (25 points) in 90th percentile scores. In mean scores, the gender difference (calculated as boys-girls) was 8 points in 2012 and 13 points in 2022. However, the gender gap has reversed since 2012 (8 points in favor of boys) in 10th percentile scores, with girls (388) scoring 3 points higher than boys (385) by 2022.
The mean, 90th, and 10th percentile scores in science have experienced decreases in Ireland in the last decade. Mean and 10th percentile scores have decreased 10-22 points from 2012 to 2022. A couple of the greatest changes are found in 10th percentile scores, with girls experiencing a drop of 18 points from 2012 (407) to 2022 (389) and boys experiencing a drop of 23 points from 2012 (401) to 2022 (378). The gender gap has opened up in favor of boys in 90th percentile scores from 2012 (9 point difference) to 2022 (21 points). However, girls have historically outperformed boys in 10th percentile scores with the gender gap opening from 2012 (6 point difference) to 2022 (11 points).
The gender differences (calculated as boys-girls) in 90th percentile scores in math was between 15 points to 25 points in favor of boys from 2012 to 2022. The gender differences in 90th percentile scores in science has been between 9 points to 25 points in favor of boys from 2012 to 2022. The gender gap, in favor of boys, has opened up in math from 2012 (19 points) to 2022, where boys scored 25 points ahead of girls. In science, the gender gap experienced a bigger change with boys outperforming girls by 9 points in 2012. One decade later, boys scored 21 points ahead of girls.
*Gender differences calculated as boys-girls
In Ireland, more boys than girls performed above a level 5 proficiency level (considered top performers) in math in the last decade. In 2022, 4.7% of girls were considered top performers compared to 9.6% of boys in Ireland.
2023
TIMSS
In 2023, girls scored lower math and science scores than boys in Ireland. The gender gap, in favor of boys, in math was 7 points in 4th grade and became wider in 8th grade (14 points). 4th grade girls scored 4 points higher than boys in science. The gender gap, in favor of boys, in science opened up to 9 points by 8th grade.
2022
PISA
In Ireland in 2022, boys (498) scored 13 points higher in mean scores than girls (485) in math. In science, girls (501) scored 6 points lower than boys (507).
In 2022, a higher share of girls (19.6%) than boys (18.5%) performed below a level 2 proficiency level (considered low performers) in math. More boys (9.6%) than girls (4.7%) scored at or above a level 5 proficiency level (considered top performers) in math. In science, 15.0% of girls and 16.1% of boys were considered low performers. A higher share boys (9.5%) than girls (5.5%) 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 bigger in the top quarter (17 points) of ESCS when compared to the bottom quarter (13 points) of ESCS. Girls (465) scored lower than boys (469) in the bottom quarter of ESCS, and the top quarter (10 point difference).
In 2022, a slightly higher share of girls (33.3%) were categorized as low performers from the bottom quarter of ESCS when compared to boys (31.0%) in math. A higher share of boys (20.7%) were categorized as top performers in math from the top quarter of ESCS when compared to the girls (10.9%) 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-quarter of students. The gender difference among top performers and students who belonged to the top quarter of ESCS was 7.5 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)
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
