Research news: Equal sign of the times

The News:
Equal sign of the times:Research on math tests subtracts boys' advantage
By Wendy Hansen Los Angeles Times
Article Launched: 07/25/2008 12:30:00 AM MDT
The notion that boys are better at math simply doesn't add up, according to a study to be published today in the journal Science.
An analysis of standardized test scores from more than 7.2 million U.S. students in grades 2 through 11 found no difference in math scores for girls and boys, contradicting a pervasive belief that most women aren't hard-wired for careers in science and technology.
The study also undermined the assumption — espoused by former Harvard University president Lawrence Summers in 2005 — that boys are more likely to be math geniuses.
Girls scored in the top 5 percent almost as often as boys, the data showed.
"Both parents and teachers continue to hold the stereotype that boys are better than girls," said psychologist Janet Hyde of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who led the study. "That's just not accurate."
Hyde and her colleagues examined data from math tests administered from 2005 to 2007 as part of the No Child Left Behind initiative. Read on...

The Research:
Read the research behind this story in the journal Science.