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 Spanish educational system. The PISA is a series of reports comparing 15-year-olds academic performance across subjects and countries. TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) is a global evaluation given every four years to students in the fourth grade to measure their understanding of mathematics and science concepts. By evaluating these scores, educators and administrators can identify patterns that may indicate areas of academic preparation strength or weakness. Educators can examine the scores of boys and girls to determine disparities and provide academic preparation to resolve gender gaps.
2012-2022
TIMSS
According to TIMSS, the mean scores in math have increased in Spain in the last decade for fourth grade girls and boys. Girls experienced an increase of 12 points from 2011 (477) to 2023 (489) in math and 3 points in science. Boys experienced a larger increase of 19 points in math and a decrease of 5 points in science from 2011 to 2023. The gender gap, in favor of boys, has opened up in math since 2011 (11 point difference), with boys scoring 18 points ahead of girls by 2023. However, in science, the gender gap, in favor of boys, has been closing since 2011 (10 point difference), with boys scoring 2 points ahead of girls by 2023.
PISA
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD), the 90th percentile, mean, and 10th percentile scores in math have decreased in Spain in the last decade. The 90th percentile, mean, and 10th percentile scores have decreased 8-16 points from 2012 to 2022. The greatest change is found in 90th percentile scores, with girls experiencing a drop of 9 points from 2012 (583) to 2022 (574) and boys experiencing a drop of 16 points from 2012 (609) to 2022 (593). In 2022, no gender gap was found in 10th percentile scores.
*Data unavailable for Spain for the PISA assessments in 2018
The 90th percentile scores in science have experienced slight fluctuations in Spain in the last decade. The mean and 10th percentile scores have decreased 11-21 points from 2012 to 2022. A couple of the greatest changes are found in 10th percentile scores, with girls experiencing a drop of 21 points from 2012 (386) to 2022 (365) and boys experiencing a drop of 18 points from 2012 (381) to 2022 (363).
*Data unavailable for Spain for the PISA assessments in 2018
The gender differences (calculated as boys-girls) in 90th percentile scores in math has been between 19 points to 27 points in favor of boys from 2012 to 2022. The gender differences in 90th percentile scores in science has been between 14 points to 17 points in favor of boys from 2012 to 2022.
*Gender differences calculated as boys-girls
**Data unavailable for Spain for the PISA assessments in 2018
In Spain, more boys than girls performed above a level 5 proficiency level (considered top performers) in math in the last decade. In 2022, 4.4% of girls were considered top performers compared to 7.4% of boys in Spain.
*Data unavailable for Spain for the PISA assessments in 2018
2022
PISA
In Spain in 2022, boys (478) scored 10 points higher in mean scores than girls (468) in math. In science, girls (482) scored 5 points lower than boys (487).
In 2022, more girls (28.1%) than boys (26.5%) performed below a level 2 proficiency level (considered low performers) in math. More boys (7.4%) than girls (4.4%) scored at or above a level 5 proficiency level (considered top performers) in math. In science, fewer girls (21.0%) than boys (21.6%) were considered low performers. However, more boys (5.9%) than girls (3.9%) 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 (10 points) of ESCS when compared to the bottom quarter (14 points) of ESCS. The gender difference in science is 12 points in favor of boys in the bottom quarter of ESCS and 2 points in the top quarter.
In 2022, a higher share of girls (47.0%) were categorized as low performers from the bottom quarter of ESCS when compared to boys (41.0%) in math. More boys (15.6%) were categorized as top performers in math from the top quarter of ESCS when compared to the girls (10.3%) 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 over 3.0 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 Results.
- OECD, PISA-PISA 2022 Results.