Research brief
Boys regain the advantage in middle school STEM skills: Post-COVID trends in gender achievement gaps
May 2025
By: Megan Kuhfeld

Description
Building on NWEAās previous research series examining the impacts of COVID-19 related disruptions to learning, this study investigates how boysā and girlsā achievement levels in STEM skills were affected. It starts by analyzing five years of data from three national assessments ā TIMMS, NAEP, and NWEAās MAP Growth ā to estimate trends in gender gaps in 8th grade throughout the pandemic. The study then examines a sample of MAP Growth data from two million students to determine whether gender gaps widened among low- and high-achieving students. Finally, it explores whether enrollment in 8th grade Algebra varied by gender during and after the pandemic.
See MoreTopics: COVID-19 & schools, Equity, Growth, Math & STEM
Related Topics


This is the accompanying technical appendix to the research study, āBoys regain the advantage in middle school STEM skills: Post-COVID trends in gender achievement gaps,ā leveraging data from three national assessments, as well as enrollment in Algebra, to examine trends in gender gaps in 8th grade STEM skills over the course of the pandemic.
By: Megan Kuhfeld, Karyn Lewis, Gustave Robinson
Products: MAP Growth
Topics: COVID-19 & schools, Equity, Growth, Math & STEM


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This is the accompanying guide to the research brief, Integrating Literacy and Science: A Powerful Partnership for Student Success, which describes four key components of effective integration of literacy and science instruction at the elementary level. In this practitionerās guide, we provide sample lessons to demonstrate each of these components in action in an elementary classroom.
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Products: MAP Growth
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COVIDās impact on science achievement: Trends from 2019 through 2024
This new report examines the pandemicās impacts on academic achievement and gain in Science and continues ongoing research by NWEAĀ® analyzing the degree to which the COVID-19 pandemic, and its associated school closures, influenced student learning.
By: Susan Kowalski, Scott J. Peters, Megan Kuhfeld, Gustave Robinson, Karyn Lewis
Products: MAP Growth
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Technical Brief ā COVIDās impact on science achievement: Trends from 2019 through 2024
This is the accompanying technical brief to the new report (Covidās impact on science achievement: Trends from 2019 through 2024) that examines the pandemicās impacts on academic achievement and gain in Science and continues ongoing research by NWEAĀ® analyzing the degree to which the COVID-19 pandemic, and its associated school closures, influenced student learning.
By: Susan Kowalski, Scott J. Peters, Megan Kuhfeld, Gustave Robinson, Karyn Lewis
Products: MAP Growth
Topics: COVID-19 & schools, Equity, Growth


Reconciling Recent Evidence on Academic Recovery in the US from 2022 to 2023
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NWEA research report examining the impacts of the pandemicās disruptions to learning and the status of academic recovery. This report features data from the 2023-24 academic year and underscores that unfinished learning continues to be a challenge due to lower achievement gains compared to pre-pandemic trends. This report is part of series tracking the on-going impacts.
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Products: MAP Growth
Topics: COVID-19 & schools, Equity, Growth