Summary: Rapid emergence of a maths gender gap in first grade
# Rapid emergence of a maths gender gap in first grade
## TL;DR
The gender gap in mathematics, favoring boys, emerges significantly within the first four months of first grade, regardless of socio-economic level or school type, and increases with years of schooling, not age.
## Summary
**Unravelling the Math Gender Gap: It Starts in First Grade**
A recent study titled “Rapid emergence of a maths gender gap in first grade” has revealed that the gender gap in mathematics, favouring boys, starts to become apparent just four months into the first grade. This contradicts the common belief that boys and girls are born with inherently different mathematical abilities.
The research team, led by Martinot, P., and Colnet, B., conducted a four-year study following the mathematical and language performance of over 2.6 million French first and second graders. Interestingly, they found that boys and girls started school with almost identical math scores. However, by the time they had been in school for four months, a noticeable gap had emerged, with boys outperforming girls. After a year, this gap had grown, regardless of factors such as family background, type of school, or socio-economic level.
This study is a crucial step in understanding when and where the gender gap in math starts. It points to the first year of schooling as a critical period, suggesting that societal stereotypes about girls’ mathematical abilities might start influencing children’s performance at this early stage. The findings challenge us to rethink how we teach maths in the early years and highlight the importance of interventions to prevent the gender gap from developing at such an early age.
In essence, this research underscores the need to address gender disparities in maths education, not as a biological inevitability, but as a socio-cultural construct that we can and should challenge from the first day of school.
## Original Paper
[Rapid emergence of a maths gender gap in first grade](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09126-4)
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*This summary was automatically generated on 2025-06-11 23:01:09.*
