What researchers studied

Descriptive cross-cohort analysis of nationally weighted MAP Growth reading and mathematics scores from kindergarten through Grade 5. Approximately 12 million students in about 22,000 schools across nine kindergarten cohorts entering from 2016-17 through 2024-25, covering roughly 37 percent of U.S. public schools serving kindergarten through Grade 5

What they found

  • Girls' kindergarten entry advantage in mathematics shrank from 0.08 standard deviations in fall 2016 to approximately zero in the most recent cohort.
  • Boys were even with or ahead of girls in mathematics by the end of kindergarten, approximately 0.08 standard deviations ahead by Grade 1, and 0.13 ahead by the end of elementary school.
  • Girls began kindergarten approximately 0.11 to 0.14 standard deviations ahead in reading, and that average advantage remained similar through Grade 5.

What the study does not prove

  • The MAP Growth sample was weighted to resemble the national population but was not a random sample of schools or students, and some regions were overrepresented.
  • Testing was disrupted during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, and fall 2020 remote scores were excluded because conditions were not comparable.
  • Students could move into and out of the sample across grades, so the analysis does not follow every learner continuously.
  • Average differences between gender groups do not describe the strengths or needs of an individual student and should not be treated as deterministic.

Evidence strength: Exceptionally large multi-cohort dataset with national weighting and robustness checks; descriptive design, nonrandom participation, pandemic disruption, and group averages limit causal and individual conclusions.

Why this matters for families

Use population patterns to ask better questions, but let the student's own evidence determine the learning plan.

Noor interpretation

How Noor translates the evidence into practice

The broad narrative of one gender falling behind hides subject-specific patterns. Reading and mathematics needs should be diagnosed separately and at the level of the individual learner.

Noor Lyra examines the student's actual work, recurring misconceptions, prerequisites, confidence, and subject-specific performance before choosing instruction.

Read the original source

Noor links to the original or authoritative source so families can distinguish the evidence itself from our interpretation.

Open original source →

DOI: 10.26300/a14s-d296

Research notes

early learningreading supportmathematicsgender gapselementary school

No single study determines a student's plan. Noor uses research as one input alongside the learner's goals, observed performance, academic context, and response to instruction.