Teachers tend to attribute skills to girls and boys that differ from the measured performance of each gender group. When test scores are comparable, boys are, on average, overestimated in mathematics, while girls are underestimated. In language skills, the opposite pattern emerges: girls tend to be overestimated, while boys are underestimated. These gender-specific biases vary among the countries studied. In mathematics, they are most pronounced in Germany, while in language skills, they are most evident in England. The United States shows the smallest biases in both areas.
The findings from NEPS Spotlight No. 05 on elementary school teachers’ perceptions of mathematical competencies and No. 19 on elementary school teachers’ perceptions of language competencies are taken from the following publication:
Olczyk, M., Gentrup, S., Schneider, T., Volodina, A., Perinetti Casoni, V., Washbrook, E., Kwon, S. J., & Waldfogel, J. (2023). Teacher judgements and gender achievement gaps in primary education in England, Germany, and the US. Social Science Research, 116, Article 102938. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2023.102938
About Spotlight No. 5
About Spotlight No. 19
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What are the NEPS spotlights?
This and other NEPS spotlights present selected findings from the National Education Panel Study—the largest long-term education study in Germany—in a concise and accessible format. They shed light on topics such as the development of competencies over the life course, as well as aspects of personality, educational participation, integration, and civic engagement. Each spotlight contains a key message, a brief explanation, and interactive graphics that visualize the respective findings. Sources and further information are also linked. The NEPS Spotlights are provided by the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) and are coordinated with the authors of the original publications. The collection is continuously expanded.
What is the National Education Panel?
The National Education Panel (NEPS) is the largest long-term education study in Germany. It examines educational processes, their conditions, outcomes, and consequences from early childhood through late adulthood. More than 70,000 participants, as well as approximately 50,000 people from their social circles, are surveyed on a recurring basis. The data collected is made available to the scientific community. More than 4,000 researchers worldwide are already working with NEPS data, and to date, more than 1,900 scientific publications have been produced.