Global study reveals surprising gender gaps in maths learning

The results of South African learners in the latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study turn many assumptions about mathematical capabilities and performance on their head.

- By Vijay Reddy

School mathematics in South Africa is often seen as a sign of the health of the education system more generally.

Under the racial laws of apartheid, until 1994, African people were severely restricted from learning maths. Tracking the changes in maths performance is a measure of how far the country has travelled in overcoming past injustices. Maths is also an essential foundation for meeting the challenges of the future.

In this article, I report on South African maths performance in Grade 5 (primary school) and Grade 9 (secondary school) in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (Timss) and examine the gender gaps in mathematics achievement.

The study is conducted every four years. South Africa has participated in it at the secondary phase since 1995 and at the primary phase since 2015. The period between the 2019 and 2023 cycles was characterised by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, social distancing and school closures.

The Department of Basic Education estimated that an average of 152 school contact days were lost in 2020 and 2021. South Africa was among the countries with the highest school closures, along with Colombia, Costa Rica and Brazil. At the other end, European countries lost fewer than 50 days.

Some academics measured the extent of learning losses for 2020 and 2021 school closures, but there were no models to estimate subsequent learning losses. We can get some clues of the effects on learning over four years by comparing patterns in South Africa against the other countries.

How did learners perform?

The South African Grade 9 mathematics achievement improved by eight points from 389 in Timss 2019 to 397 in 2023. From the trends to Timss 2019, we had predicted a mathematics score of 403 in 2023.