A Structural Model of Mathematics Achievement for Men and Women

Abstract

An extensive body of research indicates that men on the average achieve higher scores in mathematics than women. This paper addresses the issue of how this difference develops by estimating a latent-construct causal model of the process of mathematics achievement. When the model was compared between men and women, we found that the process of mathematics achievement differs. In particular, we found that mathematics ability and attitudes toward mathematics had stronger effects on mathematics achievement for men than for women. The interactions between sex and the variables in the model indicate that the process for men and women is not simply additive, and may be more complicated than previous researchers have assumed.