High school is a critical stage in a student’s journey as they develop their college and career aspirations. Academic preparation in high school can help students develop the necessary skills to succeed in an engineering degree. OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment’s (PISA) can serve as measurement for understanding high school preparation. The PISA is a series of reports comparing 15-year-olds academic performance across subjects and countries. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) can also serve as a measurement for academic preparation. TIMSS provides data on 4th and 8th graders in 64 countries. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results can serve as measurement for understanding high school preparation. The NAEP is a U.S. measurement representing elementary and secondary students’ academic achievement in various subjects. The NAEP mathematics assessment serves as a metric for evaluating students’ proficiency in mathematics and their capacity to utilize that knowledge in problem-solving contexts. The outcomes of this assessment offer a comprehensive examination of students’ mathematical skills and performance trends across different periods.
2023
TIMSS
In 2023, girls scored lower math and science scores than boys in the U.S.. The gender gap, in favor of boys, in math was 18 points in 4th grade and became smaller in 8th grade (14 points). 4th grade boys scored 7 points higher than girls in science. The gender gap in science opened up to 11 points by 8th grade.
2003-2023
NAEP
Historically, fourth-grade girls and boys displayed comparable average scores on the NAEP mathematics assessment from 2009-2019. In 2022, a significant decline was observed in the average scores of fourth-grade students, with girls scoring 6 points lower than boys. Girls demonstrated a decrease of 6 points in their scores between 2019 and 2022, while boys’ scores exhibited a comparatively smaller decline of only 3 points.
Historically, eighth-grade girls and boys display comparable average scores on the NAEP mathematics assessment from 2009-2022. In 2022, a significant decline was observed in the average scores of eighth-grade students, with girls scoring 2 points lower than boys. Girls demonstrated a substantial decrease of 9 points in their scores between 2019 and 2022, while boys scores exhibited a smaller decline of 7 points.
Historically, twelfth-grade girls have scored 2-3 points lower than their male counterparts on the NAEP mathematics assessment from 2005-2019.
Between 2005 and 2019, the proportion of boys who scored at or above proficiency level in the NAEP mathematics assessment was slightly above the proportion of girls who achieved the same feat, with girls scoring between 3-4 percentage points lower than boys.
In 2022, the percentage of fourth-grade and eighth-grade students who scored at or above the NAEP Proficient level in mathematics was lower than in 2019. The most significant decline in scores occurred among girls in both grade levels. In 2019, 39% of fourth-grade girls scored at the Proficient or Advanced level, but this percentage dropped to 32% in 2022. Similarly, among eighth-grade girls, the percentage of those scoring at or above proficient levels decreased from 33% in 2019 to 25% in 2022.
Another concerning trend is the increase in girls scoring below the NAEP Basic level. In fourth grade, the percentage rose from 20% in 2019 to 27% in 2022; in eighth grade, it increased from 30% to 39%.
Most notably, the mathematics achievement gap between boys and girls also widened between the two years. For example, the difference in the percentage of fourth-grade boys and girls scoring at the proficient level was 1% in 2019. However, this gap grew to 4% in 2022, indicating that more boys performed at the proficient level than girls. These findings highlight a concerning trend in mathematics students’ performance, particularly among girls at both grade levels.
TIMSS
According to TIMSS, the mean scores in math and science have decreased in the U.S. in the last two decades for fourth grade girls. Girls experienced a decrease of 6 points from 2003 (514) to 2023 (508) in math and a decrease of 4 points from 2003 (533) to 2023 (529) in science. Boys experienced an increase of 4 points in math and a decrease of 2 points in science from 2003 to 2023. The gender gap, in favor of boys, has opened up in math since 2003 (8 point difference), with boys scoring 18 points ahead of girls by 2023. Similarly, in science the gender gap has slighly widened since 2012 (5 points in favor of boys). Boys outperformed girls in 2023 by 7 points.
According to TIMSS, scores in math have decreased in the U.S. in the last two decades for 8th grade girls and boys. Girls experienced a decrease of 21 points from 2003 (502) to 2023 (481) in math. Boys experienced a smaller decrease of 12 points from 2003 (507) to 2023 (495). The gender gap, in favor of boys, in math has widened since 2003 (5 point difference), with boys scoring 14 points ahead of girls by 2023. Scores in science decreased 12 points for girls and 17 points for boys from 2003 to 2023. The gender gap in science has fluctuated throughout the last 20 years, with a 17 point gender difference (calculated as boys-girls) found in 2003. Despite girls outperforming boys in 2019 by 4 points, boys scored 11 points ahead of girls in science by 2023.
PISA
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD), the 90th, mean, and 10th percentile scores in math have decreased 13-24 points in the U.S. in the last decade, except for boys 90th percentile scores. A couple of the greatest changes are found in 10th percentile scores, with girls experiencing a drop of 24 points from 2012 (370) to 2022 (346) and boys experiencing a drop of 22 points from 2012 (365) to 2022 (343). In 2022, girls (346) outperformed boys (343) in 10th percentile scores.
90th percentile, 10th percentile and mean scores have fluctuated, across gender, from 2012 to 2022. Among mean scores, girls and boys scored almost the same between 2012-2022. In 2022, girls (370) outperformed boys (350) in 10th percentile scores by 20 points. 90th percentile scores experienced an increase of 12 points for girls and 26 points for boys between 2012 to 2022. A couple of the greatest changes are found in 10th percentile scores, with girls experiencing a drop of 24 points from 2012 (394) to 2022 (370) and boys experiencing a drop of 19 points from 2012 (369) to 2022 (350).
The gender differences (calculated as boys-girls) in 90th percentile scores in math has been between 10 points to 32 points in favor of boys from 2012 to 2022. The gender differences in 90th percentile scores in science has been between 7 points to 22 points in favor of boys from 2012 to 2022.
*Gender differences calculated as boys-girls
In the U.S., more boys than girls performed above a level 5 proficiency level (considered top performers) in math in the last decade. In 2022, 4.8% of girls were considered top performers compared to 9.8% of boys in the U.S..
2022
PISA
In the U.S. in 2022, boys (471) scored 13 points higher in mean scores than girls (458) in math. In science, boys (503) scored 7 points higher in mean scores than girls (496).
In 2022, more girls (35.3%) than boys (32.6%) performed below a level 2 proficiency level (considered low performers) in math. Almost twice as many boys (9.8%) than girls (4.8%) scored at or above a level 5 proficiency level (considered top performers) in math. In science, more boys (22.5%) than girls (21.4%) scored below level 2. However, more boys (13.1%) than girls (8.8%) scored at a level 5 or above proficiency 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 slightly lower math and science scores than boys across the PISA index of economic, social and cultural status (ESCS). The gender difference in math scores is much larger in the top quarter (29 points) of ESCS when compared to the lower quarter (13 points) of ESCS. Similarly, the gender difference in science is much larger in the top quarter (21 points) of ESCS than the lower quarter (6 points) of ESCS.
In 2022, a higher percentage of girls (56.6%) were categorized as low performers from the bottom quarter of ESCS when compared to boys (48.9%). Almost twice as many boys (24.6%) were categorized as top performers from the top quarter of ESCS when compared to the girls (12.6%) in the same group. In science, girls and boys who belonged to the bottom quarter of ESCS and were considered low performers comprised over a third of students. The gender difference among top performers and students who belonged to the top quarter of ESCS was about 10% (girls at 18.4% and boys at 28.6%).
*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
- U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, NCES, NAEP Report Card: Mathematics. Retrieved from https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/mathematics/?grade=4
- U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, NCES, NAEP Report Card: Science. Retrieved from https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/science/nation/groups/?grade=4
- U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, NCES, NAEP Technology and Engineering Literacy Assessments. Retrieved from https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/tel
