Subgroup gapsFull briefing
Boys outperform girls in math, girls outperform boys in ELA — even by 5th grade
The longer form of the briefing for this story: the original thesis, the supporting findings the data team flagged, and the reporting directions a journalist could follow. For the short version and the data analysis, see the main story page.
Thesis
Across NYC, 5th-grade girls score 5 points higher than boys on ELA proficiency. Boys score ~3 points higher on math. The gaps are consistent across boroughs and show up in cohort after cohort — the gender gap isn't built later, it's already present by grade 5.
Supporting findings
- Grade-5 ELA (2024-25), within-school female-male gap by borough:
- Brooklyn: +5.1 pts (girls ahead)
- Bronx: +4.6, Queens: +4.0, Staten Island: +3.2, Manhattan: +2.0
- Grade-5 Math, female-male gap:
- Brooklyn: -2.2, Manhattan: -2.6, Bronx: -2.7, Queens: -4.0, Staten Island: -4.6 (boys ahead)
- These match the well-known national gender gap but show up early.
- Manhattan has smallest gender gaps in both subjects — what's different?
- The math gap reverses by college (women earn more bachelor's degrees overall but in different fields).
- Look at K8 (which keeps the kids longer) — do the gender gaps grow into 8th grade?
- Cross-reference with single-sex schools (TYWLS Astoria etc.) — do they close gaps?
- Compare with Asian-American boys-girls gap, which is often smaller in math.
- What about middle-school screening? Are boys or girls more likely to be screened in/out of selective MS?
Reporting directions
- Plot gender gap over grades 3-8 to see if it widens or narrows.
- Pull Asian-only and Hispanic-only subgroup gender gaps — race × gender story.
- Interview principals at high-female-math schools to see if anything's being done.
- Compare with national NAEP gender gap trends.