LOCALIZE IT: Girls trail boys in math in most school districts, after gender gap grew during COVID

By TODD FEATHERS, SHARON LURYE and ANNIE MA
Associated Press

EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:

In the 2010s, schools invested in programs to address a longstanding gender gap in interest and performance between boys and girls in STEM classes. After introducing programs to support girls, schools had largely closed the gap by 2019.

But in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, that progress was reversed. Boys now outscore girls on standardized math tests in more than 87% of districts in 33 states, according to a new Associated Press data analysis.

The AP analyzed data from the Stanford Education Data Archive showing how boys and girls performed on math assessments over 15 years in more than 5,000 school districts across the U.S.

The publicly available dataset includes measurements of how far above or below grade level students scored on subject tests. These measurements are standardized from raw test scores to allow for direct comparison between districts despite differences in tests.

Details on how to access the dataset are below, as are findings from AP’s analysis and guidance on how to use the data.

We provide publishable sentences on notable data for these states: Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Arizona, Washington, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Delaware, and Illinois.

We also provide publishable sentences for dozens of school districts, including the 10 largest districts in our analysis: Los Angeles; Miami-Dade County, Florida; Clark County, Nevada; Broward County, Florida; Hillsborough County, Florida; Orange County, Florida; Palm Beach County, Florida; Houston, Texas; Gwinnett County, Georgia; and Montgomery County, Maryland.

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READ AP’S STORY

The gender gap in math widened in the pandemic. Schools are trying to make up lost ground

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WHAT DATA IS INCLUDED IN THE ANALYSIS?

The Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA) is a publicly available dataset containing information on demographics, socioeconomic characteristics, and academic achievement for districts across the nation. The SEDA 2024 dataset was the first to include standardized measures of student grade level on math and reading assessments from 2019 to 2024.

Erin Fahle, executive director of the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University, curated a subset of the SEDA dataset for the AP that included all the districts where math and reading test scores are available by gender for 2009 to 2024.

The AP added student enrollment data for each district, which was drawn from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Common Core of Data.

WHERE CAN I FIND ALL THIS DATA?

Here is a link to the AP’s curated data: Localizeable Data: Math Test Scores by Gender

Reporters can also reference the NCES Common Core of Data, which can be downloaded here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE DATA

— Boys had higher average math scores compared with girls in the 2008-2009 school year in a majority of the school districts analyzed. A decade later, girls had not only caught up, they were in the lead: Slightly more than half of districts had higher averages for girls in 2018-19.

— Post-pandemic, that parity disappeared. Boys on average outscored girls in math in nearly 9 out of 10 districts in the 2023-2024 school year.

— In the 10 largest school districts in the analysis, girls scored higher in math prior to the pandemic, but boys scored higher on average in 2023-2024.

— In general, math scores fell for both boys and girls during the pandemic. But girls’ scores dropped more.

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NOTABLE STATES AND DISTRICTS

Note: Below are examples of states and districts that saw large gaps between girls and boys — plus, as an opportunity to highlight solutions — relatively small gaps between girls and boys, and even a handful of districts that bucked the trend and saw girls’ scores improve.

Here are publishable sentences about the states with the biggest drops in girls’ math scores relative to boys, from 2019 and 2024. Note that out of the 33 states in our dataset, this analysis was further limited to include only those states that had at least 10 districts with sufficient data. The averages below were derived from district-level average scores, weighted by each district’s enrollment.

— Maryland experienced one of the largest average dropoffs in girls’ math scores compared with boys’ between 2019 and 2024, the equivalent of girls falling 49% of a grade level more than boys.

— Nevada experienced one of the largest average dropoffs in girls’ math scores compared with boys’ between 2019 and 2024, the equivalent of girls falling 43% of a grade level more than boys.

— Minnesota experienced one of the largest average dropoffs in girls’ math scores compared with boys’ between 2019 and 2024, the equivalent of girls falling 43% of a grade level more than boys.

— Arizona experienced one of the largest average dropoffs in girls’ math scores compared with boys’ between 2019 and 2024, the equivalent of girls falling 41% of a grade level more than boys.

— Washington experienced one of the largest average dropoffs in girls’ math scores compared with boys’ between 2019 and 2024, the equivalent of girls falling 40% of a grade level more than boys.

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Here are publishable sentences about the states with the smallest drops in girls’ math scores relative to boys, from 2019 to 2024. Note that out of the 33 states in our dataset this analysis was further limited to include only states that had at least 10 school districts with sufficient data. The averages below were derived from district-level average scores, weighted by each district’s enrollment.

— Iowa had one of the smallest gaps in score changes between girls and boys from 2019 to 2024, with girls’ math scores falling 64% of a grade level, while boys’ scores fell 49% of a grade level.

— Pennsylvania had one of the smallest gaps in score changes between girls and boys from 2019 to 2024. Still, girls’ math scores fell 74% of a grade level, while boys’ scores fell 53% of a grade level.

— Oklahoma had one of the smallest gaps in score changes between girls and boys from 2019 to 2024. Still, girls’ math scores fell 86% of a grade level, while boys’ scores fell 62% of a grade level.

— Delaware had one of the smallest gaps in score changes between girls and boys from 2019 to 2024. Still, girls’ math scores fell 98% of a grade level, while boys’ scores fell 72% of a grade level.

— Illinois had one of the smallest gaps in score changes between girls and boys from 2019 to 2024, with girls’ math scores falling 27% of a grade level, while boys’ scores stayed at essentially the same grade level.

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Here are publishable sentences about the 10 largest school districts in the analysis, from 2019 to 2024:

— In Los Angeles, girls’ math test scores dropped the equivalent of 13% of a grade level, while boys improved around 29% of a grade level.

— In Miami-Dade County, Florida, girls dropped 70% of a grade level, compared with boys, who dropped 42% of a grade level.

— In Clark County, Nevada, girls lost 81% of a grade level, while boys lost 35% of a grade level.

— In Broward County, Florida, girls lost 69% of a grade level, compared with boys, who lost 43% of a grade level.

— In Hillsborough County, Florida, girls lost 42% of a grade level, compared with boys, who lost 16% of a grade level.

— In Orange County, Florida, girls stayed essentially the same in math, while boys improved 40% of a grade level.

— In Palm Beach County, Florida, girls lost 90% of a grade level, compared with boys, who lost 61% of a grade level.

— In Houston, Texas, girls lost 46% of a grade level, compared with boys, who lost 23% of a grade level.

— In Gwinnett, Georgia, girls lost 80% of a grade level, compared with boys, who lost 40% of a grade level.

— In Montgomery County, Maryland, girls lost the equivalent of a full grade level, while boys lost 54% of a grade level.

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Here are publishable sentences about the districts with at least 3,000 students that saw the largest drop in girls’ math scores relative to boys’ math scores, from 2019 to 2024.

— Lima City Schools, in Ohio, had one of the largest relative dropoffs between girls’ and boys’ math scores, with girls’ scores falling 1.4 grade levels and boys’ scores falling 21% of a grade level.

— Lake Tahoe Unified, in California, had one of the largest relative dropoffs between girls’ and boys’ math scores, with girls’ scores falling 33% of a grade level and boys’ scores rising 82% of a grade level.

— Chester-Upland School District, in Pennsylvania, had one of the largest relative dropoffs between girls’ and boys’ math scores, with girls scores falling 80% of a grade level and boys’ scores rising 20% of a grade level.

— Lumberton Independent School District, in Texas, had one of the largest relative dropoffs between girls’ and boys’ math scores, with girls’ scores falling 1.2 grade levels and boys’ scores falling 18% of a grade level.

— Crane Elementary School District, in Arizona, had one of the largest relative dropoffs between girls’ and boys’ math scores, with girls’ scores falling 1.1 grade levels and boys’ scores falling 11% of a grade level.

— Derry School District, in New Hampshire, had one of the largest relative dropoffs between girls’ and boys’ math scores, with girls’ scores falling 1.4 grade levels and boys’ scores falling 44% of a grade level.

— Allen Park Public Schools, in Michigan, had one of the largest relative dropoffs between girls’ and boys’ math scores, with girls’ scores falling 65% of a grade level and boys’ scores rising 24% of a grade level.

— Claiborne County Schools, in Tennessee, had one of the largest relative dropoffs between girls’ and boys’ math scores, with girls’ scores falling 94 percent of a grade level and boys’ scores falling 5% of a grade level.

— Mooresville Schools, in Indiana, had one of the largest relative dropoffs between girls’ and boys’ math scores, with girls’ scores falling one full grade level and boys’ scores falling 17% of a grade level.

— Greenfield Union Elementary, in California, had one of the largest relative dropoffs between girls’ and boys’ math scores, with girls’ scores falling 75 percent of a grade level and boys’ scores rising 10% of a grade level.

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Here are publishable sentences about the districts with at least 3,000 students where girls’ math scores rose the most, from 2019 to 2024:

— Southside Independent School District, in Texas, bucked the trend and saw some of the biggest improvements for girls in math, with girls’ scores rising 1.6 grade levels, the same amount as boys in the district.

— Somerset Independent School District, in Texas, saw some of the biggest improvements for girls in math, with girls’ scores rising 1.2 grade levels. That was less than the 1.5 grade-level improvement in boys’ scores.

— Needville Independent School District, in Texas, saw some of the biggest improvements for girls in math, with girls’ scores rising 1.2 grade levels. That was slightly more than the 1.1 grade-level improvement in boys’ scores.

— Saraland City Schools, in Alabama, saw some of the biggest improvements for girls in math, with girls’ scores rising 1.1 grade levels. That was less than the 1.6 grade-level improvement in boys’ scores.

— Oak Ridge Schools, in Tennessee, saw some of the biggest improvements for girls in math, with girls’ scores rising 1.1 grade levels. That was less than the 1.6 grade-level improvement in boys’ scores.

— Henry County Schools, in Tennessee, saw some of the biggest improvements for girls in math, with girls’ scores rising one full grade level, the same amount as boys.

— Cedarburg School District, in Wisconsin, saw some of the biggest improvements for girls in math, with girls’ scores rising one full grade level. That was slightly less than the 1.2 grade-level improvement in boys’ scores.

— Enterprise City Schools, in Alabama, saw some of the biggest improvements for girls in math, with girls’ scores rising 79% of a grade level. That was less than the 1.1 grade-level improvement in boys’ scores.

— Caledonia Community Schools, in Michigan, saw some of the biggest improvements for girls in math, with girls’ scores rising 78% of a grade level. That was less than the 1.2 grade-level improvement in boys’ scores.

— El Segundo Unified School District, in California, saw some of the biggest improvements for girls in math, with girls’ scores rising 67% of a grade level. That was less than the 87% of a grade level improvement in boys’ scores.

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Here are publishable sentences about the districts (of any size) that saw the largest drop in girls’ math scores relative to boys’ math scores, from 2019 to 2024:

— Merritt Academy, in Michigan, had the largest relative dropoff between girls’ and boys’ math scores, with girls’ scores falling the equivalent of 1.5 grade levels while boys’ scores rose by 6% of a grade level.

— Biborg-Hurley School District, in South Dakota, had one of the largest relative dropoffs between girls’ and boys’ math scores, with girls’ scores falling 81% of a grade level and boys’ scores rising 69% of a grade level.

— Sibley East School District, in Minnesota, had one of the largest relative dropoffs between girls’ and boys’ math scores, with girls’ scores falling 88% of a grade level and boys’ scores rising 57% of a grade level.

— Big Horn County School District #3, in Wyoming, had one of the largest relative dropoffs between girls’ and boys’ math scores, with girls’ scores falling 77% of a grade level and boys’ scores rising 51% of a grade level.

— Harlan Independent, in Kentucky, had one of the largest relative dropoffs between girls’ and boys’ math scores, with girls’ scores falling 1.5 grade levels and boys’ scores falling 25% of a grade level.

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REPORTING QUESTIONS

— Look at districts where girls scored higher on average than boys before the pandemic, but lower after the pandemic. What changed in these districts? What programs or funding sources disappeared?

— Ask your local school district if they have any math initiatives aimed specifically at girls. Have they seen success in helping both girls and boys recover?

— Recent federal funding cuts to the National Science Foundation have affected STEM education projects around the country. Did the cuts impact programming in your school district?

— What does participation in STEM coursework look like in your local school district? Enrollment in Algebra 1 by eighth grade is considered a key metric. Are girls enrolling at the same rate as boys? What about in elective STEM courses at all grade levels? What are district efforts to recruit students to those programs like?

— What investments are districts making in teacher training and evidence-based teaching methods? Have any of those efforts been impacted by the pandemic or federal funding cuts?

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Localize It is a resource produced regularly by The Associated Press for its customers’ use. Questions can be directed to the Local News Success team at localizeit@ap.org.