Gender Differences in Mathematical Performance and the School Context: Evidence from Russia

• In Event: 512 - Section on Sex and Gender Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 04. Inequalities and Education

Abstract

Gender differences in mathematical performance have been long debated in sociology, economics, and psychology. We analyze a large and previously unavailable to researchers data set of high school graduates who took a standardized mathematical test in Russia in 2011 (n = 738,456). We find no substantial difference in mean test scores of boys and girls. However, boys have a greater variance of scores and are more numerous at the top of the distribution. We apply quantile regression to model the association between school characteristics and gender differences in test scores throughout the distribution. Male advantage in test scores, particularly at the top of the distribution, is concentrated in cities and in schools with the advanced curriculum. In ordinary high schools, especially in the countryside, gender differences in all parts of the distribution are very small. We suggest several mechanisms, based on selection and school effects, that account for our findings.

Authors

• Alexey Bessudnov, National Research University

• Alexey Makarov, National Research University