Gender differences of academic performance in compulsory educationin rural Southwestern China

Xin Gong a,*, Yanqing Ding b, Mun C. Tsang a
a Teachers College, Columbia University, USA
b Graduate School of Education, Peking University, China

Based on data from the Southwest Basic Education Project, this paper provides an empirical estimation of
gender gaps in Chinese and math among primary and lower-secondary school students in poor counties
of Southwestern China. Major findings from 2-level HLM analysis by grade (3, 5, 7, and 9) include: (1)
small positive gaps favoring girls in Chinese and negative gaps inmath were found for all grades. (2) Gaps
were larger in higher grades, girls’ advantage in Chinese experienced a small increase over the 2006–
2010 period, and gaps varied by province. (3) Being a minority and having a low SES interplayed with
gender in some circumstances.