Associate Professor of Education Chelda Smith Kondo recently spoke to MinnPost regarding an Associated Press analysis of standardized math test scores that found the gender gap among third through eighth graders has widened since the pandemic.
From the story:
The Associated Press looked at average test scores for third through eighth graders across 15 years in over 5,000 school districts in 33 states, compiled by the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University.
Across the country, the analysis shows that schools have lost ground since the pandemic following a decade in which educators had nearly closed the gender gap between girls and boys on math scores. While boys’ scores also suffered during COVID, they have recovered faster than girls’ scores. The widening gender gap in Minnesota was among the largest nationwide, equivalent to 43% of a grade level.
“The gender gap didn’t close by accident,” said Chelda Smith Kondo, associate professor of education at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. “It was through intentional, targeted, consistent initiatives to make girls feel like they could see themselves in the STEM world.”
