Gender Gaps in Early Grades: Questioning Whether Schools Disadvantage Young Boys

Abstract

This study examined the development of achievement differences by gender from kindergarten through fifth grade using data from almost 12 million U.S. students across nine kindergarten cohorts. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, girls entered school ahead in both subjects, but their math advantage has diminished over time. Boys consistently surpassed girls in math skills during elementary school, while girls maintained a steady lead in reading. These findings challenge assumptions about an early schooling disadvantage for boys and highlight persistent, subject-specific gender gaps. We argue for targeted instructional strategies to support boys’ reading development and counteract stereotypes that may hinder girls’ math achievement.

Keywords

academic achievement COVID-19 K–12 schools

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bassok

Latham

Rorem

(2016). Is kindergarten the new first grade? AERA Open, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858415616358

Cain Miller

. (2025a, May 13). It’s not just a feeling: Data shows boys and young men are falling behind. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/upshot/boys-falling-behind-data.html

Cain Miller

. (2025b, May 31). Why boys are behind in school from the start. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/31/upshot/boys-struggling-kindergarten-school.html

Cimpian

J. R.

Lubienski

S. T.

Timmer

J. D.

Makowski

M. B.

Miller

E. K.

(2016). Have gender gaps in math closed? Achievement, teacher perceptions, and learning behaviors across two ECLS-K cohorts. AERA Open, 2(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858416673617

DiPrete

T. A.

Buchmann

(2013). The rise of women: The growing gender gap in education and what it means for American schools. Russell Sage Foundation.

Garcia

(2015). Inequalities at the starting gate: Cognitive and noncognitive skills gaps between 2010–2011 kindergarten classmates. Economic Policy Institute. https://www.epi.org/publication/inequalities-at-the-starting-gate-cognitive-and-noncognitive-gaps-in-the-2010-2011-kindergarten-class/

Heubeck

Baker

Tomko

Solis

(2025, January). Boys are falling behind girls in school. See how. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/boys-are-falling-behind-girls-in-school-see-how/2025/01

Kuhfeld

Lewis

Robinson

(2025). Boys regain the advantage in middle school STEM skills: Post-COVID trends in gender achievement gaps. NWEA Research Report. https://www.nwea.org/uploads/boys-regain-the-advantage-in-middle-school-steam-skills-post-covid-trends-in-gender-achievement-gaps_NWEA_researchBrief.pdf

Lurye

LaFleur

Feathers

(2025). Exclusive AP analysis reveals girls across the US fell behind in math during the pandemic. Associated Press. https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/best-of-the-week/second-winner/2025/exclusive-ap-analysis-reveals-girls-across-the-us-fell-behind-in-math-during-the-pandemic/

10.

Putnam

R. D.

Reeves

R. V.

(2025, August 15). Boy crisis of 2025, meet the “boy problem” of the 1900s. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/opinion/men-boys-crisis-progressive-era.html

11.

Reardon

S. F.

Fahle

E. M.

Kalogrides

Podolsky

Zárate

R. C.

(2019). Gender achievement gaps in U.S. school districts. American Educational Research Journal, 56(6), 2474–2508. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831219843824

12.

Reeves

R. V.

(2022a). Of boys and men: Why the modern male is struggling, why it matters, and what to do about it. Swift Press.

13.

Reeves

R. V.

(2022b). Redshirt the boys: Why boys should start school a year later than girls. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/10/boys-delayed-entry-school-start-redshirting/671238/

14.

Sarrouf

Jr. (2024). What’s wrong with boys in school? Thomas B. Fordham Institute. https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/whats-wrong-boys-school

15.

Whitmire

(2011). Why boys fail: Saving our sons from an educational system that’s leaving them behind. AMACOM.

16.

Zero to Three. (2021). Are there any differences in boys’ and girls’ brain development? https://www.zerotothree.org/resource/are-there-any-differences-in-the-brain-development-of-boys-and-girls/

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.65 MB