In 2012, PISA asked students about their intentions to use mathematics in their future studies and careers. The conclusions are presented in this report.

Conclusions

• Girls outperform boys in reading in all countries and economies by the equivalent of one year of school.
• In most countries and economies, girls underperform boys in mathematics; and among the highest-achieving students, the gender gap in favor of boys is even wider.
• The gender gap in mathematics performance mirrors the gender gap in students’ drive, motivation, and self-belief.
• Boys and girls tend to benefit equally when they are perseverant and motivated to learn and have confidence in their abilities to learn mathematics. Consequently, the performance of both boys and girls suffers at the same rate when they lack the motivation to learn and confidence in their own abilities.

Download the report here. 

Photo by OECD