The Gender Factor in Math

A new study says males may be naturally abler than females

Until about the seventh grade, boys and girls do equally well at math. In early high school, when the emphasis shifts from simple computation to mathematical reasoning, the boys tend to pull ahead and stay there--through college and in later life.

Why should this be so? Though academics have churned out an enormous literature on the subject, no clear answers have emerged. Some believe in differences in brain organization, or the "natural" inclination of females toward "people" tasks (e.g., nursing, psychology, literature, teaching) and away from technical tasks. Others stress that high school coincides with the onset of puberty, when girls become more interested in boys than in building skills like math. Since the rise of feminism, however, female underachievement in math has been generally chalked up to sexism: the low expectations of parents and teachers are said to produce a 'reverse Pygmalion effect." According to Educator Elizabeth Fennema and Psychologist Julia Sherman, in an article on the subject, "Sexual stereotyping of mathematics as a male domain operates through a myriad of subtle influences from peer to parent and within the girl herself."

That theory meets its strongest challenge yet in a seven-year study reported in this week's Science magazine. According to its authors, Doctoral Candidate Camilla Persson Benbow and Psychologist Julian C. Stanley of Johns Hopkins University, males inherently have more mathematical ability than females.

Benbow and Stanley decided to compare boys and girls who excel at math. In six separate "talent searches" conducted from 1972 to 1979, they tested a total of 9,927 students from schools in Washington, D.C., and five states (Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania). To be eligible the students had to score in the upper 2% to 5% on a standard math test. As part of the study, the students, seventh-and eighth-graders, took both the math and verbal sections of the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Tests. Boys and girls performed equally well on the verbal, say the authors, but there was "a large sex difference in mathematical ability in favor of boys."

Overall, the boys' math scores averaged 35 points higher than the girls'. The differences were most pronounced among the best students. According to the study, "Boys outnumbered girls more than 2 to 1 (1,817 vs. 675) in math scores over 500."

Benbow and Stanley find it "notable" that a sizable sex difference shows up in the seventh grade, before most students have a chance to take or drop optional courses. Some academics argue that girls score lower because they take fewer courses in math. Partly true, say the authors. The gap between boys and girls in one retested group grew ten points from the time of their talent search until high school graduation. But the gap was 40 points to begin with.

Did the study somehow attract boys who were brighter than the girls? In the majority of the searches, the girls did better in relation to nationwide scores of college-bound female seniors than the boys did to college-bound male seniors.

Still, Mary Gray, a mathematician at American University, says too little is known about mathematical reasoning to conclude that genetics plays a major part. Another possible objection to the study: showing that the best girls score lower than the best boys does not establish a general sexual difference. Yet the authors argue that results did not change when the study was broadened from the top 2% to 5%, and would probably have stayed the same in samples of lower-scoring students. Besides, say the authors, most of the concern has been about intellectually able girls.

Many women "can't bring themselves to accept sexual difference in aptitude," says Benbow. "But the difference in math is a fact. The best way to help girls is to accept it and go from there."

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