The GENDERED COMPLEXITIES of school mathematics achievement: Girls outperforming or boys underperforming?

Boys scored higher or the same mathematics averages as girls in most of the countries that participated in the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS 2019). But this was not the case for South Africa. Vijay Reddy, Catherine Namome and Palesa Sekhejane explore gender achievement gaps in mathematics at grade 5 and grade 9 levels, also comparing secondary schools in the two most well-resourced provinces – Gauteng and Western Cape. They ask whether we should celebrate girls’ higher performance or be concerned about boys’ underperformance.