Mounting case against notion that boys are born better at math
Science & Tech Mounting case against notion that boys are born better at math Elizabeth Spelke studies French testing data, finds no gender gap until instruction begins Christy DeSmith Harvard Staff Writer July 3, 2025 6 min read Elizabeth Spelke. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer Twenty years ago, cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Spelke took a strong position in an ongoing public debate. “There are no differences in overall intrinsic aptitude for science and mathematics among women and men,” the researcher declared. A new paper in the journal Nature, written by Spelke and a team of European researchers, provides what she called “an even stronger basis for that argument.” A French government testing initiative launched in 2018 provided data on the math skills of more than 2.5 million schoolchildren over five years. Analyses showed virtually no gender differences at the start of first grade, when students begin formal math education. However, a gap favoring boys opened after just four months — and kept growing through higher grades. The results support previous research findings based on far smaller sample sizes in the U.S. “The headline conclusion is that the gender gap emerges...