Gender Differences in High-Achieving Students in Math and Science

Abstract

The research described in this article examined gender differences between high-achieving students in math and science with respect to their achievement, self-concept, locus of control, number of math and science courses taken, and the important people who contributed to their decisions to enroll in advanced courses in high school. The study utilized data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS: 88; National Center for Education Statistics, 1994), with two subsamples selected that represent the highest achieving students in math and in science. The results of this study indicated that there were more males than females in both subsamples of high-achieving students in math and science. The results also suggested that the best predictor for distinguishing between mathematically high-achieving males and females was locus of control. High-achieving males had both higher self-concept and higher standardized math test scores than high-achieving females.