Gender Differences in Academic Achievement: Is Writing an Exception to the Gender Similarities Hypothesis?

Writing in two different scripts promotes fine motor control

Biscriptuality is the ability to write in two different scripts. Achieving handwriting expertise in a single script demands years of intensive practice, and these demands are even stronger when two scripts must be mastered. Biscriptuality could thus impact the cognitive and motor skills underlying graphomotor control. Here, we aimed at establishing that biscriptuality enhances graphomotor control, and at testing whether biscriptuals have better fine motor skills and working memory performance compared to Latin monoscriptuals. We found that biscriptuals perform better than monoscriptuals on graphomotor tasks, and on 3 types of fine motor control tasks indexing dexterity, motor timing under spatial constraints, and spontaneous motor tempo; the two groups did not significantly differ in their working memory performance. These results demonstrate that writing expertise widely impacts the organization of the motor system.

Spelling development of children with and without reading difficulties throughout elementary grades: evidence from the Greek orthography

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the development of spelling in a large sample (N = 503, boys: N = 219) of Greek-speaking children with (N = 41) and without (N = 462) reading difficulties. Children were initially tested in Grades 2-4 and then at five consecutive measurement points over a 3-year period, focusing on how initial reading ability, grade, and gender may moderate the rate of spelling growth. Individual growth curve modeling revealed continuous growth of spelling performance in the total sample, although the growth rate decreased over time for children first tested in Grades 3-4. Spelling growth rate was also significantly slower among children with reading difficulties between Grades 2-4 and 3-5. The two reading groups displayed similar growth rates between Grades 4 and 6. Spelling growth rates did not vary significantly with gender. Overall, our study highlights the persistence of spelling difficulties even after 6 years of systematic teaching in children with reading difficulties. The severe and persistent spelling deficits of Greek-speaking children with reading difficulties may be attributed to the rich morphological system of the Greek language, the intermediate Greek orthographic transparency (in the direction of writing), and their limited experience with print.

Direct and indirect effects of physiological, psychological and cognitive variables on academic achievement in children

BACKGROUND

Associations between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), screen time, psychological well-being, executive functions, and academic achievement have been reported, however, few studies have analysed models considering the effect of all these variables on academic achievement. This study aims to analyse the direct and indirect associations of mothers' education level, CRF, screen time, psychological well-being, executive functions, with academic achievement in schoolchildren, by sex.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional analysis of MOVI-daFit! study including 519 schoolchildren (49.52% girls) aged 9-11 years old. Executive functions were assessed with the NIH Toolbox, CRF with the 20-m shuttle run test, academic achievement through the final academic grades in language and mathematics and mother's education level, screen time and well-being by questionnaires.

RESULTS

Structural equation modelling revealed that in boys cognitive flexibility had a significant direct effect on academic achievement and screen time a total significant effect on academic achievement. In girls, CRF was associated with inhibition and psychological well-being, and this was associated with academic achievement.

CONCLUSIONS

Physiological, psychological, and behavioural variables act together to impact academic achievement, and that differences by sex might exist. Thus, strategies to enhance academic achievement in schoolchildren should consider psychological well-being, CRF, screen time, and sex differences.

IMPACT

Physiological, psychological, and behavioural variables, such as cardiorespiratory fitness, screen time, psychological well-being, and cognition all together have an impact on academic achievement, with differences by sex. Previous studies have demonstrated the separate effect of these variables, however, to date, this is the first study that analyses all together in the same model their impact on academic achievement, by sex. This study shows that in boys cognitive flexibility and screen time impact academic achievement. In girls, cardiorespiratory fitness is highly associated with psychological well-being, and this, in turn, was associated with academic achievement.

Examining gender effects in autistic written language skills: A small sample exploratory study

Background and aims

Gender differences in the written language of autistic individuals are an overlooked but important area of research. We contend that the gender differences in spoken language of autistic individuals may extend to written language, mirroring the gender differences of writing in the general population and reflecting the shared dimensionality of oral and written language. Our research question was: Do autistic adolescent females demonstrate written language characteristics, across persuasive, expository, and narrative genres, that are distinct from those of autistic adolescent males and non-autistic (NA) adolescent females?

Methods

We performed a secondary, exploratory analysis on writing samples collected from 18 participants (11 autistic males, three autistic females, and four NA females) from a larger investigation of autistic adolescents' writing skills. Each participant completed three writing samples-one persuasive, one expository, and one narrative (for a total of 54 writing samples). We compared sample length (total number of words), writing productivity (words written per minute), syntactic length (mean length of T-unit in words), vocabulary diversity (type-token ratio), and macrostructure of autistic females' samples to autistic males' and NA females' samples.

Results

Based on non-parametric analyses using variable medians, autistic males, but not autistic females, wrote significantly shorter expository samples than NA females. Autistic males' writing productivity was significantly lower in the persuasive and expository genres than both autistic females and NA females. Several other comparisons of sample length, productivity, vocabulary diversity, and persuasive and narrative macrostructure yielded large effect sizes but were not statistically significant.

Conclusions

Though our small sample sizes prevent us from drawing generalizable conclusions, we observed that some gender-specific findings of the current study differ from previous findings based on a single autistic group (females and males combined). Combining data of autistic females with autistic males may cloud the distinct written language characteristics of each group.

Implications

Our findings, especially when situated in the context of relevant literature, suggest that larger-scale investigation of gender differences in written language is essential in order to more fully describe the unique characteristics of autistic females. Clinicians should be prepared to support autistic writers' needs for producing written language to meet their developmental, academic, social, and employment-related goals.

Assessing gender difference in mathematics achievement

Gender differences in math-related professional achievements have been identified as a worldwide problem. Academic achievement assessments, however, have repeatedly revealed gender similarities. The observed gender similarity might be due to biased assessments that heavily rely on reading skills, which favors girls. The current study analyzed 29 international and within-country datasets representing a total of 9,471,692 students from 1,456 regions through four typical, large-scale student academic achievement assessments. The results showed a gender difference in mathematics achievements of greater than 0.76 (Cohen's d), favoring boys for each dataset after controlling for general reading achievements. The gender difference in mathematics achievements favoring boys exceeded 0.35 in each region, with a mean of 0.70 for 79 countries or jurisdictions in the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2018) after controlling for general reading achievements. Dataset- and region-level gender differences are robust, suggesting that there is a clear gender difference in mathematics achievements that previous analyses have not identified due to the effect of reading achievements differences.

The Impasse on Gender Differences in Intelligence: a Meta-Analysis on WISC Batteries

This meta-analysis reviews 79 studies (N = 46,605) that examined the existence of gender difference on intelligence in school-aged children. To do so, we limited the literature search to works that assessed the construct of intelligence through the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC) batteries, evaluating eventual gender differences in indices and subtests. The theoretical framework we adopted is the cross-battery approach which locates cognitive abilities into different levels, also considering the possible mediating effect of the version of the WISC being used. As for broad abilities, a notable discrepancy emerged in favour of males for visual and crystallized intelligence, while female/male differences on fluid intelligence were negligible. Conversely, females’ performance on the processing speed factor was superior. Interesting results emerged at the subtest levels, albeit with less pronounced differences in performance. Results generally showed that older versions of WISC batteries displayed larger gender differences compared to the most recent ones.

Beyond Simple Mean Differences: Analysis of Sex Similarities and Differences in Academic Achievement With the Kaufman Tests of Educational Achievement, Third Edition

Simple mean differences summarized in meta-analyses do not always adequately describe sex similarities and differences. We investigated sex similarities and differences in academic achievement test scores during childhood and adolescence multiple ways based on composite and subtest scores from the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (Third edition) norming sample. Sex differences in means were investigated across achievement domains and ability levels. Test score variance and percentages of scores at different parts of score distributions were also compared across sex. The largest and most consistent sex differences were female advantages in writing tests: Larger advantages were found in more complex writing tasks. Females also showed consistent advantages in silent reading fluency. Males demonstrated advantages in math problem solving that emerged at the average ability level. Females were more likely to be high achievers in reading fluency and written expression, whereas males were more likely to be low achievers in reading fluency and aspects of writing, and very low achievers in word recognition, word recognition fluency, and reading vocabulary. Males were more likely to be high achievers in math problem solving. Analysis that goes beyond simple mean differences reveals important sex differences regarding academic achievement, and theories should account for overall patterns of academic achievement similarities and differences.

The Use of Handwriting Changes for the Follow-up of Patients with Bipolar Disorder

INTRODUCTION

Patients with bipolar disorder have motor skill deficiency and cognitive dysfunction. It is suggested that these deficiencies are related to the neurodevelopmental course of the disease. The aim of this study was to examine whether or not there was a change in the handwriting of patients with bipolar disorder in periods of mania and remission.

METHOD

Two samples of handwriting and signature were taken from the cases, one on admission before treatment and one just after discharge. The first sample was taken in the period when the patients hospitalised with manic episode before medications and the second sample was taken in remission when the decision for discharge was made. The handwriting changes betwen the manic episode and the remission period were examined.

RESULTS

In the examination of the handwriting between the two periods, there was an increase in the size of the writing, pen pressure, the length of words, the spaces between words, and missing and incorrect punctuation marks in the manic episode. There were no differences in any handwriting measure on function of the specific diagnosis or the antipsychotic dose but tremor count was higher in patients using antipsychotics (p<0.05). Most of the parameters showing a change were found to be related to the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) scores.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study determined severe changes in the handwriting of patients with bipolar disorder in a period of mania. Handwriting features can be used to screen patients for discharge and can be used for prediction when a patient might switch into manic episode. Also intake YMRS scores were found as the most important feature that affect handwriting parameters in manic patients.

Functional brain networks underlying automatic and controlled handwriting in Chinese

This study aimed to identify the functional brain networks underlying the distinctions between automatic and controlled handwriting in Chinese. Network-based analysis was applied to functional magnetic resonance imaging data collected while adult participants performed a copying task under automatic and speed-controlled conditions. We found significant differences between automatic and speed-controlled handwriting in functional connectivity within and between the frontoparietal network, default mode network, dorsal attention network, somatomotor network and visual network; these differences reflect the variations in general attentional control and task-relevant visuomotor operations. However, no differences in brain activation were detected between the two handwriting conditions, suggesting that the reorganization of functional networks, rather than the modulation of local brain activation, underlies the dissociations between automatic and controlled handwriting in Chinese. Our findings illustrate the brain basis of handwriting automaticity, shedding new light on how handwriting automaticity may be disrupted in individuals with neurological disorders.

Men, women and STEM: Why the differences and what should be done?

It is a well-known and widely lamented fact that men outnumber women in a number of fields in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths). The most commonly discussed explanations for the gender gaps are discrimination and socialization, and the most common policy prescriptions target those ostensible causes. However, a great deal of evidence in the behavioural sciences suggests that discrimination and socialization are only part of the story. The purpose of this paper is to highlight other aspects of the story: aspects that are commonly overlooked or downplayed. More precisely, the paper has two main aims. The first is to examine the evidence that factors other than workplace discrimination contribute to the gender gaps in STEM. These include relatively large average sex differences in career and lifestyle preferences, and relatively small average differences in cognitive aptitudes – some favouring males, others favouring females – which are associated with progressively larger differences the further above the average one looks. The second aim is to examine the evidence suggesting that these sex differences are not purely a product of social factors but also have a substantial biological (i.e. inherited) component. A more complete picture of the causes of the unequal sex ratios in STEM may productively inform policy discussions.

Interplay Between Reading and Writing Under Different Teaching Models: A Study Based on Chinese Learning by China's Ethnic Minorities

INTRODUCTION

The relationship between reading and writing has been comprehensively explored from different perspectives. The following three theories and hypothesis could elucidate the relationship: reading→writing, writing→reading; and reading↔writing. In China, the teaching models of school influence the Chinese language learning of students in ethnic minority areas. Although language teaching can take various forms, this study selects two teaching models (S1: the traditional teaching model; S2: the complete Chinese teaching model) that can broadly represent Chinese minority schools. Primarily, this study aims to investigate the impact of different teaching models on the interplay between Chinese reading and writing ability of China's minority students. Second, this study aims to explore gender differences in the relationship between reading and writing in two different teaching models.

METHODS

As the cross-lagged model is suitable for a longitudinal study of the data collected from multiple time waves and explore the causal relationship between variables. We enrolled 3869 Chinese ethnic minority fourth- to sixth- grade students from 126 schools and collected data for three waves. This study mainly achieves the two aims mentioned above through the cross-lagged design.

RESULTS

Results reveal that: (1) the complete Chinese teaching model is more effective than the mixed teaching model in stimulating the interaction relationship between reading and writing; (2) in the mixed teaching model, boys did not exhibit a significant effect of reading on writing, but only the effect of writing on reading, whereas girls exhibited the interaction between reading and writing; in the complete teaching model, there are gender differences in the relationship between reading and writing, however, with the development of time, the interaction between boys and girls in reading and writing becomes more robust, demonstrating that similar development trend in boys' and girls' interaction between reading and writing.

CONCLUSION

The implication of these results is that: (1) the interactive relationship between reading and writing is developed in both teaching models; (2) there are some gender differences in the relationship between reading and writing in each teaching model.

Measurement Invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition 10-Subtest Primary Battery: Can Index Scores be Compared across Age, Sex, and Diagnostic Groups?

Measurement invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fifth Edition (WISC-V) 10 subtest primary battery was evaluated across sex, age (6–8, 9–11, 12–14, and 15–16 year-olds), and three diagnostic (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and encephalopathy) groups within a large clinical sample ( N = 5359) referred to a children’s specialty hospital. Competing models were tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and a five-factor oblique model corresponding to the publisher’s hypothesized first-order measurement model (e.g., verbal comprehension, fluid reasoning, visual-spatial, working memory, and processing speed) was found to have the best model fit. Multigroup CFA was subsequently used to evaluate progressively more restrictive constraints on the measurement model. Results indicated that full metric invariance was attained across the three groups studied. Full scalar invariance was attained for sex and diagnostic groups. Partial scalar invariance was attained for age-group. The results of this study provide support for the first-order scoring structure of the five WISC-V factors in the 10 subtest primary battery with this large clinical sample.

Men and women differ in the neural basis of handwriting

There is an ongoing debate about whether, and to what extent, males differ from females in their language skills. In the case of handwriting, a composite language skill involving language and motor processes, behavioral observations consistently show robust sex differences but the mechanisms underlying the effect are unclear. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a copying task, the present study examined the neural basis of sex differences in handwriting in 53 healthy adults (ages 19–28, 27 males). Compared to females, males showed increased activation in the left posterior middle frontal gyrus (Exner's area), a region thought to support the conversion between orthographic and graphomotor codes. Functional connectivity between Exner's area and the right cerebellum was greater in males than in females. Furthermore, sex differences in brain activity related to handwriting were independent of language material. This study identifies a novel neural signature of sex differences in a hallmark of human behavior, and highlights the importance of considering sex as a factor in scientific research and clinical applications involving handwriting.

Cognitive ability influences on written expression: Evidence for developmental and sex-based differences in school-age children

Some studies have demonstrated that the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) cognitive abilities influence writing; however, little research has investigated whether CHC cognitive abilities influence writing the same way for males and females across grades. We used multiple group structural equation models to investigate whether CHC cognitive ability influences on written expression differed between grades or sex using the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition and the Kaufman Tests of Educational Achievement, Second Edition co-normed standardization sample data (N=2117). After testing for consistent measurement of cognitive abilities across grades and sex, we tested whether the cognitive ability influences on written expression were moderated by grade level or sex. An important developmental shift was observed equally across sex groups: Learning Efficiency (Gl) influences decreased whereas Crystallized Ability (Gc) influences increased after fourth grade. Further, Short-Term Memory (Gsm) and Retrieval Fluency (Gr) influences on written expression depended on sex at grades 1-4, with larger Gr influences for females and larger Gsm influences for males. We internally replicated our main findings using two different cognitive explanatory models, adding further support for the developmental and sex-based differential cognitive ability influences on writing. Explanatory cognitive models of writing need to incorporate development, and possibly, sex to provide an expanded understanding of writing development and guard against potential generalizability issues characteristic of special population (i.e., male-female) studies.

Preschool Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Children with Congenital Heart Disease

OBJECTIVE

To describe preschool neurodevelopmental outcomes of children with complex congenital heart disease (CHD), who were evaluated as part of a longitudinal cardiac neurodevelopmental follow-up program, as recommended by the American Heart Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, and identify predictors of neurodevelopmental outcomes in these children.

STUDY DESIGN

Children with CHD meeting the American Heart Association/American Academy of Pediatrics high-risk criteria for neurodevelopmental delay were evaluated at 4-5 years of age. Testing included standardized neuropsychological measures. Parents completed measures of child functioning. Scores were compared by group (single ventricle [1V]; 2 ventricles [2V]; CHD plus known genetic condition) to test norms and classified as: normal (within 1 SD of mean); at risk (1-2 SD from mean); and impaired (>2 SD from mean).

RESULTS

Data on 102 patients were analyzed. Neurodevelopmental scores did not differ based on cardiac anatomy (1V vs 2V); both groups scored lower than norms on fine motor and adaptive behavior skills, but were within 1 SD of norms. Patients with genetic conditions scored significantly worse than 1V and 2V groups and test norms on most measures.

CONCLUSIONS

Children with CHD and genetic conditions are at greatest neurodevelopmental risk. Deficits in children with CHD without genetic conditions were mild and may not be detected without formal longitudinal testing. Parents and providers need additional education regarding the importance of developmental follow-up for children with CHD.

Biological Gender Differences in Students’ Errors on Mathematics Achievement Tests

This study investigated developmental gender differences in mathematics achievement, using the child and adolescent portion (ages 6-19 years) of the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement–Third Edition (KTEA-3). Participants were divided into two age categories: 6 to 11 and 12 to 19. Error categories within the Math Concepts & Applications and Math Computation subtests of the KTEA-3 were factor analyzed and revealed five error factors. Multiple ANOVA of the error factor scores showed that, across both age categories, female and male mean scores were not significantly different across four error factors: math calculation, geometric concepts, basic math concepts, and addition. They were significantly different on the complex math problems error factor, with males performing better at the p < .05 significance level for the 6 to 11 age group and at the p < .001 significance level for the 12 to 19 age group. Implications in light of gender stereotype threat are discussed.