Post-Pandemic Math Gender Gap Widens Globally, New TIMSS Data Reveals

Overview of a Troubling Trend

Recent global education data has uncovered a worrying pattern: girls' math performance is falling behind boys' at an alarming rate, reversing years of progress toward gender equity in mathematics. An international study released last week, based on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), shows that the gender gap in math achievement has widened significantly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conducted every four years, TIMSS measures math and science skills among fourth- and eighth-grade students worldwide. The latest analysis, produced by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement in partnership with UNESCO, highlights that girls are losing ground in both grades, with the most dramatic shifts occurring among eighth-graders.

Post-Pandemic Math Gender Gap Widens Globally, New TIMSS Data Reveals — Source: www.edsurge.com

Fourth-Grade Findings: Boys Pull Ahead

In 2023, fourth-grade boys outperformed their female peers in the vast majority of participating countries and territories. This trend has widened the gender gap that existed before the pandemic. According to the report, among top-performing fourth-graders, 85% of regions showed results skewed toward boys. Furthermore, the percentage of areas where girls struggle to reach basic math proficiency is rising, and in most of those regions, a larger share of girls than boys are failing to meet the minimum benchmark. This signals that the pandemic may have disproportionately affected younger girls' foundational math skills.

Eighth-Grade Results: Exponential Growth in Disparity

The situation is even more pronounced for eighth-graders. Since 2019, the rate at which boys score higher than girls has increased exponentially. This has rolled back more than a decade of gains in math equity, where girls had been steadily catching up to boys. Currently, slightly over half of the countries and territories surveyed show an advanced math achievement gap that favors eighth-grade boys, while no region shows a gap favoring girls. Although the overall gender gap in underperformance among eighth-graders is shrinking, the proportion of countries where girls have a higher failure rate has spiked, indicating that while some girls improve, others are being left further behind.

Pandemic Disruptions: A Likely Culprit

Matthias Eck, a program specialist for UNESCO’s Section of Education for Inclusion and Gender Equality and one of the report’s authors, points to a correlation between longer school closures and higher rates of learning loss in math. He notes, “One of the hypotheses is really that those disruptions during the pandemic may have exacerbated existing disparities and have reduced learning opportunities for girls, and potentially those that were at risk of low achievement have been more affected.” Eck adds that being out of school could have impacted girls' confidence in math, though he stresses this is just a hypothesis. The data suggests that school closures, which varied widely across countries, disproportionately harmed girls' math learning, possibly due to reduced access to supportive learning environments at home or increased caregiving responsibilities.

The U.S. Picture Mirrors Global Trends

This international pattern echoes findings from the United States. Last year, data from the Nation’s Report Card (the National Assessment of Educational Progress) also revealed a widening math gender gap post-pandemic. U.S. analysts observed that boys' math scores declined less than girls' during the pandemic, and the recovery has been uneven. The TIMSS data now confirms that this is not an isolated American issue but a global phenomenon affecting girls across diverse education systems.

Implications for Policy and Practice

The findings call for urgent action to address the widening gap. Researchers caution against drawing premature conclusions about causality, but the evidence strongly suggests that pandemic disruptions have set back efforts to achieve gender equity in math education. Eck emphasizes the need for targeted interventions to support girls who are at risk of low achievement, particularly in regions with prolonged school closures. Strategies may include:

Targeted tutoring and after-school programs for girls struggling with math.
Teacher training to recognize and counteract gender biases in the classroom.
Inclusive STEM initiatives that encourage girls’ participation from an early age.
Flexible learning options to accommodate students who faced greater disruptions.

Without such measures, the report warns, the gains in math equity seen over the past decade could continue to erode, with long-term consequences for girls’ academic and career opportunities in STEM fields.

Conclusion

The TIMSS data provides a stark reminder that crises like the pandemic can deepen existing inequalities. While boys have generally maintained or improved their math performance relative to girls, the global community must now work to reverse this trend. As the overview shows, the evidence is clear: the math gender gap is widening at the expense of girls, and immediate, evidence-based action is needed to ensure that all students, regardless of gender, can achieve math proficiency.