Maths only subject where boys outperform girls

BOYS slightly stretched their lead in maths performance over girls in this year’s Leaving Certificate, but it remains the only popular subject in which they are more likely to get top grades at Higher Level.

Out of all 23,534 boys who took maths at Higher, Ordinary or Foundation level in June, 3,455, or 14.7%, got an honours grade (an A, B or C) in the Higher Level paper.

This compares with 12.8% (3,916 students) of all 25,509 girls who took a maths exam.

This difference of 1.9% is slightly greater than the 1.5% gap in each of the previous two years, but compares with a difference of 3% in 1999 and 5% in the early 1990s.

Experts believe that within a couple of years girls will surpass boys in these terms in maths, further strengthening their comparative performance overall in the Leaving Certificate.

“In recent international assessments, 15-year-old Irish boys performed slightly better in maths than girls, yet Junior Certificate results for the same group showed girls doing better,” said Muiris O’Connor of the Higher Education Authority.

As author of a recent Department of Education report on gender in Irish education, he said these differences highlighted beliefs that the second level maths curriculum and assessments are more suited to girls.

“The international tests taken here have a strong emphasis on the real life, problem-solving approach to maths which boys are better able to get to grips with. In the Junior and Leaving Certificate, questions are more likely to be in an abstract or theoretical context,” he said.

The statistics are based on a gender analysis of this year’s results by the State Examinations Commission (SEC), showing a higher proportion of the girls who take Higher Level papers in the most popular subjects continue to get honours.

However, more girls than boys who sat this year’s Leaving Certificate took Higher Level papers in Irish, English, French, German, art, chemistry and biology. The difference is most pronounced in biology, Irish and art, where there were more than two female Higher Level candidates for every male.

In Higher Level maths, geography, history, physics, applied maths and engineering, there were more male candidates than girls.

But girls are steadily bridging the gap at Higher Level maths, taken this summer by 4,472 boys and 3,916 girls, a subject in which boys were twice as likely to sit the Higher Level exam in 1991.

International and Irish research has shown girls are better able to prepare for exams. “The differences in performance are in line with those in other countries, but the gap is widening each year in favour of girls,” said Mr O’Connor.

While the improving results for girls are encouraging, the Department of Education and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment are working to address the under- performance among boys.

It will also be taken into account in planned changes to the Leaving Certificate maths curriculum to improve general uptake at Higher Level and make it more relevant.