Girls put numbers up in math

The days of ''math fear," when many girls shied away from arithmetic and algebra, may be numbered.

Girls statewide are now boys' equals on the math MCAS exams at all grade levels and have forged ahead in many of the top school systems in Boston's western suburbs.

Last year, 57 percent of girls scored advanced or proficient on the high-stakes 10th-grade MCAS test, compared with 56 percent of boys. In Medfield, Millis, Newton, Shrewsbury, and Wellesley, the sophomore girls either equaled or outperformed the boys on last year's exams.

Some educators remain concerned about girls' math performance. Girls score consistently lower on the math SATs, and in Massachusetts they take far fewer advanced placement math classes.

But other educators say the ''gender gap" is a thing of the past.

''It just isn't there anymore, and it's time we stopped talking about it," said Cathy Seeley, president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Girls have generally trailed boys on standardized math tests for years, prompting debate over whether math ability is innate or culturally determined.

The subject has been the topic of intense debate since Harvard University's president, Lawrence H. Summers, citing studies, speculated earlier this year that women may lack the same intrinsic abilities as men in math and science.

Girls in Massachusetts scored an average of 36 points lower on the SAT math test last year. And in Massachusetts, Advanced Placement math classes contain twice as many boys as girls.

But Elisa Morris, head of the math department at Wellesley High School, where 91 percent of female sophomores last year scored advanced or proficient, said, ''It's not even on our radar screen."

She said teachers set high expectations for all students in all subjects.

''It becomes part of the culture," she said. ''Regardless of the class you're in, you can't hide."

Others point to more rigorous teaching spurred by accountability measures and varied methods of instruction, including visual representations of theories and hands-on assignments.

That has helped all students, but particularly girls, educators say.

Many schools also go out of their way to encourage girls and motivate them to succeed in math.

Aware of past studies that have shown that teachers subconsciously expect less of female math students, Waltham teachers make sure to call on girls as often as boys, and are quick to provide them one-on-one extra help. Teachers believe the awareness has paid dividends -- 62 percent of female sophomores scored advanced or proficient on last year's math MCAS, as opposed to 48 percent of the boys.

''It's an explicit part of the conversation, and that can only help," said Alexander Wyeth, Waltham's assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. ''It's a sharpening of expectations that girls can perform just as well."

From a young age, girls receive damaging societal messages that they are ill-suited for mathematics, many educators say.

These cultural stereotypes, perpetuated by parents and teachers, cause talented students to doubt their ability and grow wary and anxious about the subject.

''It's a self-fulfilling prophecy," said Christine Moynihan, an elementary school principal in Newton and a former math teacher. ''I can't remember how many times I've heard mothers say, `I'm not surprised my daughter's not good at math; I wasn't, either,' or let the father help her with her homework."

Girls begin to ''pull back" in math as early as third grade, Moynihan said. Boys are more likely to raise their hands or blurt out the answers, and girls start to lose confidence and question their abilities, even if they earn good grades.

By middle school that doubt has often deepened into ''math fear," a reflexive dislike for the subject that prevents students from even giving it a try.

Take the boys out of the equation, however, and girls typically thrive, she said.

In a summer math course Moynihan offers to some 60 girls in grades 3-9, students tackle the subject with confident enthusiasm.

The weeklong sessions stress math's creative side and everyday uses. And the stereotype that boys naturally have better heads for numbers fades away.

''The barriers are down," said Moynihan, who is cautiously optimistic that math fear may be receding.

Leonard Sax, the author of ''Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know About the Emerging Science of Sex Differences," said boys' and girls' minds naturally learn in decidedly different ways. The answer is to separate them and teach them differently.

''If you teach girls and boys the same way, by the age of 12, girls won't like math, and boys will hate to read and write," he said. Sax said ''pervasive and destructive gender stereotypes" worsen the problem.

Sarita Nair, who spearheads a project that introduces youngsters to creative careers in math and science, the Education Development Center in Newton, said that kids' perceptions of math and science are set in stone at a young age.

By middle school, many girls have already written math off as too difficult and uncool, she said.

''If you don't get them early on, you're preaching to the converted," she said.

''A good drawer needs to know he or she could be a computer animator, or a medical illustrator," she said. ''They need to be exposed to the possibilities."

Many educators, while heartened by improvements in girls' test results, believe that society still discourages women from entering male-dominated fields.

''It's not just test scores," said Susan Bailey, executive director of The Wellesley Centers for Women. ''I don't think girls are getting the message that they can be engineers, too."

But other teachers say those stereotypes are fading and few girls nowadays are intimidated by math or believe boys naturally have an advantage.

''I think the many years of making women aware that they can be good at math is finally kicking in," said Eileen Herlihy, Waltham's math director.

Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com.