It is good news for those who rely in equality of genders. But on the other hand, it is bad news for those girl students, who don’t work hard on calculations and seek respite from the common belief that girls achieve less at Math! A study of data on students’ performance in math from schools across the world has found nothing supporting the myth. But the interesting myth is present, often seeking explanations from difference in biology of boys and girls.

The main author of the study Janet Mertz, professor of oncology, University of Wisconsin-Madison said they tested some recent hypotheses that sought a gender gap in math ability, but found the data not supporting the hypotheses. Further, they correlate it with socio-cultural factors.

Another author of the study Jonathan Kane is a professor of mathematical and computer sciences at the same university. The study took into account data from 86 countries, to examine the hypothesis seeking higher variability in males. The hypothesis was put forth by Lawrence Summers in 2005, when he was president of Harvard. It was a controversial hypothesis when its expounder sought explanations for fewer outstanding mathematicians.

The hypothesis embraces that males show a greater deviation in performance at math—to both the ends. Once you rely in it; it becomes easier for you to appreciate the fact that among the top extraordinary mathematicians there are more males than females.

The data from many countries contradicted the variability concept of the hypothesis. The data led the authors to conclude it more as a cultural factor than a biological one.The data taken into consideration in this study included authorized data of last 5 years. The authors say that the studies are becoming more objective with the availability of data from non-Western countries.

The study also undertook the theory by Steven Levitt (famous for Freakonomics) that atmosphere in Muslim countries don’t affect girls’ performance in math. The theory advocates that single-sex classes favor girls’ performance in the subject. The authors of the Wisconsin study took the data from Bahrain and Oman among other Middle Eastern nations to test the theory.

They rejected the theory citing the data that girls in single-gender classes of the countries performed poor in Math (though the boys performed even worse). They rather related the poorer performances with some cultural practices like boys attending religious classes with less emphasis on math curricula. On the other hand, the girls were found to leave the schools at an early stage of grade eighth—making the data unrepresentative.

The data shows it has more to do with the socio-cultural factors that may be country-specific than any biological differences.

Interestingly, the authors could relate the girls’ performance at math with an index that relates to the gap in social, economic and cultural standards of a country for boys and girls. They found the girls would perform better when they were raised in a society giving more freedom and equality to women.

Kane found it sensible to say that if the women in a society are well educated and earn better, the children of that society– both boys and girls– would perform better at math. Thus, gender equality is always a win-win situation for both the sexes.

The US fell at 31st rank in students’ performance in Math in 2009. This led to speculations about creating single-sex classes. The present study rejects single-class hypothesis and has advocates more certified teachers, instead. The authors maintain the poor performance at math is all what can be addressed by people– instead of being based on some natural or biological factors beyond our reach.