Girls consistently outperform boys in school marks across most subjects
In short: A meta-analysis of 369 samples found a consistent female advantage in teacher-assigned school marks. While the gap varies by subject, girls generally achieve higher grades than boys in elementary, secondary, and university settings.
The study analyzed 502 effect sizes to determine how much larger these differences are across different academic environments. Researchers found that the advantage for girls is most pronounced in language courses and smallest in mathematics. Interestingly, the data showed that this gap remains stable over time, suggesting that recent concerns about a declining performance among boys may not be supported by historical data.
The researchers used a multilevel approach to account for nonindependent data points across different samples. A limitation of this research is that it specifically looks at teacher-assigned marks rather than standardized achievement tests, where the gender gap behaves differently.
Why it matters: Understanding that gender gaps in education are stable and subject-dependent helps contextualize academic performance trends.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Research: Voyer and Voyer (2014). Gender differences in scholastic achievement: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin.
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