TY  - JOUR
AB  - A growing number of scholars and educational leaders have raised concerns that the mismatch between an increasingly academic focus in the early grades and boys’ maturity at school entry is disadvantaging young boys in school. In this study, we use a unique dataset of ten million students to trace the development of math and reading gender gaps from kindergarten to fifth grade for nine cohorts of students. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, girls entered kindergarten with advantages in both subjects, but their initial advantage in math disappeared in recent years. Boys quickly surpassed girls in math during elementary school, a trend that has been stable over the past two decades. In contrast, girls maintained a steady advantage in reading from school entry through fifth grade. These findings suggest that while boys are not disadvantaged in early grades, gendered patterns of achievement persist and require targeted support. Educators should address boys’ reading challenges and potential negative stereotypes facing girls in math to foster equitable learning environments for all students.
AU  - Kuhfeld, Megan
AU  - Burchinal, Margaret
PY  - 2025
ST  - Gender Gaps in the Early Grades: Questioning the Narrative that Schools are Poorly Suited to Young Boys
TI  - Gender Gaps in the Early Grades: Questioning the Narrative that Schools are Poorly Suited to Young Boys
UR  - http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1297
ER  -