were taught how to solve arithmetic problems using one of these instructional approaches. Analysis of subsequent computation test performance revealed that fifth graders scored higher than third graders, and there was a significant interaction between gender and instruction group. After instruction, girls in the didactic group outperformed boys in both instruction groups and girls who had been taught using constructivist approaches. Gender differences in computation performance can appear relatively early, by third grade, if didactic instruction strategies are used to teach computational rules. The pattern of gender differences suggests that didactic teaching does not handicap boys. Rather, it appears that didactic instruction enhances computational performance in girls.
Manning (1998, pp. 168-171) reviewed the literature on gender differences in mathematics and science, paying particular attention to achievement in mathematics and science, and implications for middle school educators addressing young adolescents' gender-specific needs. He reports an ongoing survey of students' educational progress in the U.S. measuring five mathematics strands: number sense, properties and operations; data analysis, statistics and probability; measurement; geometry and spatial sense; and algebra and functions. In 1996, he reports, fourth grade males' average scores were higher than scores for fourth grade females; however, scores for eighth and 12th grade males and females did not show any significant difference (p.168).
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