Is there a real difference between the intellectual abilities of girls and boys at Math? For many years now, the gender gap in math tests scores between girls and boys maintained a stereotype that placed girls and Math on two different planets. However, the latest standardized test scores of over 7 million students revealed that whatever difference may have been in the past, it’s gone now!

The study breaks down a myth that minimized women’s capabilities of having careers in science and technology, and supported the idea that boys are some kind of geniuses when it comes to exact sciences. “There just aren’t gender differences anymore in math performance,” said Janet Hyde, psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and leader of the study.

The findings should trigger some serious alarm signals not only for those who generally believe that women weren’t born for math, but also for parents and teachers, who continue to support the idea that girls are less capable than boys.

A study dating back 20 years ago, also led by Janet Hyde, revealed a trivial gap between math test scores of girls and boys in elementary and middle school. According to researchers, in the past, girls lagged boys especially at high school level; however, things have changed, and women have started taking the same advanced courses as men.

“Now that enrollment in advanced math courses is equalized, we don’t see gender differences in test performance,” explained Marcia C. Linn of the University of California, co-author of the study. The complete findings of the report appear in the July 25 issue of the journal Science.

The team of scientists used math scores from the state exams required under the No Child Left Behind Act, and took into consideration for their analysis several criteria, such as gender, ethnicity and grade level. The data of over 7 million students from 10 different states across the country was used to calculate an “effect size,” which measures score differences between girls’ and boys’ scores in standardized units.

The effect sizes ranged from 0.01 to 0.06, which indicated that there is no real difference between the average scores of boys and girls, and although boys in some states have had slightly better scores than girls, girls in other states have done better than boys. On average, there is no gender difference, Hyde explained.

The SAT statistics, which in the past have been the reason for spreading the idea that girls are less capable than boys in math, have now changed due to a simple fact: the number of girls going to college has significantly increased compared to 20 years ago. The differences in numbers may be the explanation for the results in the past, Hyde pointed out.

There are however contesters to the findings, who believe that when it comes to complex problem solving, girls definitely remain behind boys. Although no differences have been found, researchers did find a lack of adequate questions to test students’ ability in solving complex problems, which in the future may affect them in their careers.

Overall, there still remains an important issue to solve: change some old mentalities! Statistics have shown there are no real differences between genders, but the stereotype remains. Parents and teacher continue to believe that girls struggle with Math, and in some cases, they even pass on this belief to girls in school. “If your mom or your teacher thinks you can’t do math, that can have a big impact on your self-concept,” said Hyde.