Why Have Girls’ Test Scores Declined Relative to Boys’ in Recent Years? | PIER Public Seminars

Why Have Girls’ Test Scores Declined Relative to Boys’ in Recent Years? | PIER Public Seminars

by Sean F. Reardon, Sadie Richardson, Sofia Wilson

Humanities, Social Sciences & Thought Education JNDEducational systems and structuresJNDHEducation: examinations and assessment
🎙 Sean F. Reardon, Sadie Richardson, Sofia Wilson 👥 72K 📅 December 1, 2025 ⏱ 90 min 👁 257 📄 original study 🧭 2026-08-16
Available in: English (current) Français

Keywords

gender gaptest scorespandemicschool districtsNAEP

Summary

This seminar, presented by Sean Reardon at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, investigates why girls’ test scores declined more than boys’ during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using NAEP data, the presenter shows that this pattern is consistent across the US and other OECD countries, with girls falling behind in math, reading, and science. The study leverages the Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA), which includes standardized test scores from 7,000 US school districts over 15 years, to examine how the gender gap changed during the pandemic. The analysis reveals that the decline in girls’ scores relative to boys was larger in communities with fewer economic, social, and educational resources, and in areas where the pandemic’s impact was most severe, such as longer school closures, limited social interactions, and higher COVID death rates. In more advantaged communities, gender gaps remained largely unchanged. The presenter discusses several hypotheses, including increased caregiving roles for girls, heightened anxiety and depression, and differential effects of remote learning. The findings suggest that gendered social norms and expectations may interact with crises to exacerbate educational disparities. The study is ongoing, with plans to explore international variations and absenteeism data.

191 words

Critical Evaluation

Value of the Information & Strength of the Argument

The presentation provides valuable insights into a timely and important issue, using a large-scale dataset to document the phenomenon and its variation across communities. The argumentation is methodical, with clear explanations of the statistical models and sensitivity checks. The presenter acknowledges limitations, such as the ecological nature of the analysis and the inability to establish causality. The discussion of alternative hypotheses is balanced, and the evidence is presented in a nuanced way, avoiding overstatement.

Scientific Rigor, Source Quality, Title Accuracy

The scientific rigor is high, with the study based on a comprehensive dataset and robust analytical methods. The sources cited include the Stanford Education Data Archive and NAEP, which are reputable and well-established. The title accurately reflects the content. The presentation is part of a public seminar series, and the research is not yet peer-reviewed, but the methodology is transparent and the authors are credible. The audience questions indicate engagement and critical thinking, but no specific comments are provided for analysis.

170 words

Title / Content Match

The title accurately reflects the content, which investigates the relative decline in girls' test scores during the pandemic.

Quality & Reliability

8/10

The presentation is based on a large-scale empirical study using SEDA data covering 7,000 districts and 320 million test scores, with rigorous statistical methods. The authors are established researchers at Stanford and Harvard. However, the study is not yet peer-reviewed and relies on ecological correlations, limiting causal inference.

Key Moments

Markers derived by PSI from the transcript: the creator did not define chapters.

Cited Sources

Concurring Sources

Contribution & Novelties

This study provides a novel, large-scale analysis of gender gaps in test scores during the pandemic, using district-level data to identify community-level factors associated with the widening gap. It extends previous work by examining variation across 7,000 districts and linking it to local pandemic impacts and resources. The findings highlight the role of gendered social norms and crises in educational disparities.

Pour aller plus loin :

  • Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA) — The dataset used in the study, providing measures of educational opportunity for every school district in the US.
  • NAEP - The Nation’s Report Card — The source of national assessment data used to link state tests and track trends.
  • OECD PISA — International assessment data showing similar patterns in other countries.
  • TIMSS — Another international assessment used for comparison.
  • Education Recovery Scorecard — A related project by the same team tracking pandemic learning loss.

146 words

Radar Profile

The radar profile shows high scores in quantity of information and fiabilite_globale, reflecting the extensive dataset and rigorous methodology. The niveau_technique is moderately high, indicating advanced statistical techniques. The qualite_information is also high, but the overall note is slightly lower due to the preliminary nature of the findings.

Reliability 8/10

💬 No comments were provided for analysis.