Gender Differences in Children’s Mathematics Trajectories: Mixed Findings in Higher and Lower Achievers

• In Event: Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: Research in Mathematics Education SIG Poster Session

Abstract

With a sample of 8,503 children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), this study examined how achievement levels moderate gender differences in math trajectories. Participants were classified to either higher or lower achievers group using cluster analysis, and results of latent growth curve modeling indicate that (a) while higher achievers demonstrated a higher growth rate and a faster decline in such positive growth as compared to lower achievers, the math trajectories of two groups were not qualitatively different; (b) with achievement levels taken into account, a child’s baseline score does not predict his future growth rate in mathematics; (c) a significant gender gap is only observed in the higher achievers group, but not in lower achievers.

Authors

• Tianlan Wei, Mississippi State University

• Xun Liu, Texas Tech University

• Lucy Barnard-Brak, Texas Tech University