One of the often-referenced reasons for the problem of math performance in girls was that girls received an unfair math education. Teachers tended to bail out girls who flubbed or struggled with a math problem, while boys received hearty encouragement to tough it out and solve the problem for themselves. This results, the research says, in girls with very low expectations for themselves in math, who therefore perform pretty poorly.

But now most teachers have a keen awareness of the disparity in the way girls and boys were treated. I just hope teacher don’t over-compensate for this by focusing too much on girls, harming the boys the process, or making the girls feel self-conscious for getting so much math help. It’s hard to make someone behave in an unprejudiced manner- even well meaning teachers.