A study of nearly three million French schoolchildren has shown that boys score higher in math than girls as early as first grade. At the same time, before the start of school, the children had approximately the same results in math tests. Such early emergence of differences in math results suggests that these differences need to be combated from an early age by providing girls with support in learning this subject. The study published in the journal Nature.
The researchers compared the results of 2,6 million French first- and second-grade students aged five to seven who took national tests to assess knowledge in 2018-2022. They took into account the results of the tests at the beginning of the first year of school, four months later and a year later. As it turned out, the difference in scores in favor of boys arose regardless of the region of France, the children's socio-economic status, the type of test and whether the school was private or public. This difference was absent at the beginning of school, appeared in the fourth month and quadrupled at the beginning of the second grade.
The study was observational, so the researchers couldn't determine why the difference in scores appeared at the beginning of school. However, they suggest that children may be exposed to stereotypes at school that boys are better at math and girls at languages. These stereotypes may influence children's perceptions of their abilities, especially as they are exposed to new subjects. This may cause children to experience test anxiety, which is higher in girls.
