For nearly 20 years, academic strategies, support and policies focused on closing long-standing achievement gaps in STEM between boys and girls. These efforts paid off, and by 2019, girls’ achievement in  and  equaled or exceeded boys’. Then the pandemic hit, and the gaps that took two decades to close were back.

My colleagues and I at NWEA, an education assessment and research company, recently released examining how the pandemic impacted achievement for boys and girls in math and science. We looked at scores from three large national assessments (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, the National Assessment of Educational Progress and NWEA’s MAP Growth). The data highlighted two main trends:

•  The achievement gap in math and science reemerged during the pandemic, once again favoring boys. However, an achievement gap did not resurface in reading, where girls continue to outperform boys.
• Looking at high-achieving students, boys showed significantly higher scores across assessments than girls in both math and science. For low-achieving students, however, boys’ scores were lower than girls’.

These trends are not limited to the U.S. Other English-speaking countries show similar gaps, pointing to a broader issue. A similar trend is seen more locally.  On the NAEP assessments, which provide California-specific data for eighth grade math, the results mirror the nation. In  had an average math score that was not . By 2024, however, boys had an average score that was  than girls’ in math.

Our research also looked at enrollment by boys and girls in eighth grade algebra across 1,300 U.S. schools. Enrollment in this math course is often used as a predictor of future enrollment in higher-level math in high school, as well as a predictor of participation in college and career opportunities in STEM fields. In 2019, girls enrolled at higher levels than boys in eighth grade algebra (26% vs 24%). By 2022, enrollment had declined for both groups, with the drop-off for girls being slightly sharper than for boys. While the decline was experienced by both, enrollment for boys in algebra had bounced back to pre-pandemic levels by 2024.

Taken together, the results of this research signal that the effects of the pandemic were not felt evenly by boys and girls. More significantly, this data does not provide the “why” for these setbacks and the reemergence of achievement gaps. One area to spotlight is the trend of girls reporting more emotional challenges, like depression and anxiety, during and after the pandemic that may have impacted their learning. Notably, the widening gender gap emerged after students returned to in-person school, pointing to factors in the school environment as potential contributors, like the  among boys, leading teachers to pay more attention to them in class.

While many of the  in the last few years about gender differences in school have focused on the ways that boys are  than girls, our research has illustrated an overlooked area where girls could use more support. As schools continue to focus on academic recovery and approaches that drive academic outcomes for all students, it’s crucial that those efforts are measured and evaluated effectively to ensure new inequities don’t arise or old ones don’t take permanent root. We have three primary recommendations to address these gaps:

1.    Monitoring participation in STEM milestones by boys and girls, over time, and not just within a single year to gain a better view of trends. For example, eighth grade algebra enrollment in 2024 appears to be balanced by gender, but it overlooks a critical trend that boys’ enrollment has returned to pre-pandemic levels while girls’ enrollment is still below 2019 levels. Analyzing longitudinal trends within each group is key to uncovering and addressing setbacks that may be hidden by a single-point-in-time snapshot.

2.    Providing specific academic and emotional support to students. Girls reported feeling more stress, anxiety and depression than boys, and noted it as an obstacle to their learning during the pandemic. Addressing both the academic needs and emotional needs of students may be critical in closing these emerging gaps in STEM skills.

3.    Evaluating classroom dynamics and instructional practices. If shifts in behavior and teacher attention during the pandemic disproportionately benefited boys in STEM subjects, understanding these shifts may help address the re-emerged achievement gap. Targeted professional learning that promotes equitable participation and inclusive teaching practices in STEM can help ensure all students have equal opportunities to succeed.

As our schools continue to navigate this long path toward academic recovery, it’s important that those efforts don’t unintentionally grow existing inequities or create new ones. More and more evidence is emerging that the pandemic was not an equal opportunity hitter, and its disruptions affected students differently. For girls in math and science, moving forward will require renewed attention to addressing achievement gaps, targeted support and careful monitoring of progress. Reclosing STEM gaps will take time, but with the right focus, it is possible to not only recover, but to build a more equitable STEM education system that ensures both boys and girls have immense opportunities to succeed.

This was originally published on .

Roughly 85,000 Afghan nationals have arrived in the United States as part of , President Joe Biden’s August 2021 initiative to aid those who worked alongside American military personnel and who were forced to escape after the U.S.’s .

It’s unclear how many of these refugees are school-aged but of those held at U.S. military bases upon arrival last year were children — and more are en route, according to the Department of Homeland Security. They’ve landed everywhere from Fremont, California, to Northern Virginia where Afghan expats can be found in numbers. 

Refugee resettlement workers and teachers alike say these students’ needs are unique: Some hail from highly educated families while others never before had the opportunity to attend school. 

Many Afghan girls lag behind the boys — even their own siblings — and most, no matter their gender, trail their U.S. peers. 

Despite this, their transformation has been remarkable, said Kathleen Renfroe, school liaison for the Fredericksburg Migration and Refugee Service office for Catholic Charities.

Renfroe enrolled between 120 and 140 Afghan children this past year alone. She said one student, a 14-year-old girl, was discouraged from attending school in Afghanistan — and in Virginia: The child was instead expected to marry and start a family, Renfroe said. 

But school officials alerted her parents to compulsory education laws — and to their daughter’s potential.

“Cultural pressures can be difficult,” Renfroe said. “We helped them understand that here in this country, we encourage education and that it’s not a barrier to later becoming a wife and mother.”

In the end, not only was the teen excited about the possibility of furthering her education and prospering in a career of her choosing, but her mother was, too: She knew her daughter could achieve more here than she could at home, where girls are now being kept from school beyond their elementary years.

In another case, a child with spina bifida, who would likely receive no education in her home country because of her disability, has flourished in America: She recently completed a month-long STEM program that had all students learning about aerodynamics, computers and virtual simulations. 

She was so thrilled to participate that she skipped breakfast every morning because she worried it would make her late to class, Renfroe learned through her mother. 

“She had never seen her daughter so excited,” Renfroe said. “Her mom was really grateful. It was the first time she felt like a 12-year-old child.”

Texas

Nazia Sadat, a mother of three who lives with her family 30 minutes outside Houston, understands the joy that comes after a difficult transition. 

Sadat does not speak English and neither did her children upon arrival in August 2021, making the last school year particularly difficult.  

“All of them were very sad at the beginning to go to school,” Sadat said through a translator. “They couldn’t understand anything, but the teachers really helped them. They used Google Translate to understand what they said. They were loving, caring and helped them every day. In this one year, my children became very happy. They changed a lot from the beginning.” 

A relative of hers, Kaynat Sadat, who lives nearby with her husband and three children, said her 7-year-old daughter Esra struggled with the loss of friends and family back home. All three kids clung to their mother and cried on and off  throughout the day last summer. 

School softened their loss, said Kaynat, who is fluent in five languages, including English. But even with her advanced education — she earned a law degree in Afghanistan in 2015 — Humble Independent School District’s policies were new to her and difficult to navigate. 

“When we came, we didn’t know how the system worked,” she said. “But everyone was so helpful. In this one year, they never let us alone. The school asked about everything, gave every information — and we attended every program they had. I appreciate all they did for us. I feel I have a family here.”

Nazia Sadat’s children, who attend Fort Bend Independent School District, remember the difficulty of those early days in America, how they were unable to communicate with their classmates. 

“When I first got here, I couldn’t talk to them,” said 11-year-old Mudasir, who also speaks Pashtu and Dari. “By wintertime, I was able. The kids are pretty friendly. If you say, ‘Can you play with me’, they will play with you.”

Asia, his 8-year-old sister, recalls being unable to answer what now seems like the simplest question. 

“My friend asked me, ‘What is your name?’” she said. “I didn’t know what she meant.”

Now, the little girl has an American best friend.

“When we go to recess, we always play together and talk,” she said. “We sit on the swings and go play on the monkey bars.”   

Nazia Sadat is hopeful her children will go on to college, that her son will make good on his pledge to become an engineer and that her daughter will pursue medicine. 

“The main reason why I came here and am happy here is that I want my children to be educated,” Sadat said. “Especially my daughter.”

South Carolina

While she’s embraced American values, other families are reluctant to adapt to such a stark change. 

Claudia Newbern, assistant principal at the Charleston County Newcomer Center in South Carolina, doesn’t want to lose Afghan students — particularly, girls — to the shock of the American school system. 

Their interaction with men and boys back home is largely forbidden, so walking into a massive building filled with both goes against everything they’d been taught. 

Newbern, careful not to rattle them so much that the students drop out, tries to familiarize them and their parents with their new surroundings: Some adjust easily while others struggle for months. 

Three teenage sisters who arrived in the district in February were particularly distressed by the American system. They hail from a conservative family whose values clashed with their school’s.   

“They were petrified,” Newbern said. “It was all very shocking for them.”

The district itself is enormous: It serves 49,000 students in 88 schools and specialized programs. Some 6,000 students are multilingual learners.

Recognizing their difficulty in navigating such a large school environment, the sisters were led around by a chaperone for much of their first two weeks on campus. And when they grew anxious around a male art teacher — he was friendly and accommodating but nevertheless such proximity made them uneasy — Newbern moved the trio to a class led by a woman. 

It wasn’t the only unusual adjustment. The girls’ teachers had already asked male students to keep their distance during their first months of school, a request the boys were glad to honor: Newcomers themselves, they know how difficult it is to absorb foreign customs. 

“We didn’t want them so overwhelmed that they didn’t go to school,” Newbern said.  

The early accommodations paid off: The girls are thriving. While they are still struggling to learn English — they had only limited schooling at a young age — they are happy inside classrooms led by male teachers and interact with ease around all students, Newbern said, including the boys they once avoided. 

All three want to attend college with two deciding on career fields. One plans to be a nurse and another a teacher. 

And they make frequent use of a prayer room designed for those students who must pray during school hours. 

The sisters are surrounded by their peers for much of the day but spend lunchtime in the library where they can sit on the floor, much as they would at home. Newbern was honored, recently, when the girls asked her to join them. It was an informative interaction: That’s how the administrator learned one of them, age 17, is married and that her husband remains back home.   

“I asked, ‘Do you miss Afghanistan,’” she said. “They said, ‘A little. Here better.’”

The Taliban has kept most girls out of school beyond the sixth grade. Some secondary schools have to them in the eastern part of the country, but their future remains uncertain. 

College-age women also are under threat. Those who chose to continue with their studies from their male peers. have erupted over the restrictions but large-scale disruptions are too dangerous for participants. 

, which promotes academic freedom around the world, has found that women have not been , that scientific conferences and other programs are gender segregation and that some for not attending prayers. 

The organization, launched at the University of Chicago in 1999, has relocated thousands of scholars to safer parts of the world through the years: It received more than 1,500 applications from Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover — including 20% from women. In a typical year, SAR receives 500-700 applications worldwide. 

“To have restrictions around their ability to teach and/or research is an incredible loss — not only to women in Afghanistan, who have hard-won their academic accomplishments despite myriad pressures, but also to the academic community inside the country which will now be stifled and missing these vital voices,” said Rose Anderson, director for Protection Services at SAR. 

Virginia

Tim Brannon, principal of the International Academy at Alexandria City Public Schools, said the number of Afghan students in his program has risen dramatically in the past five years: They accounted for roughly 25% of the population in 2017-18, but nearly half now, on par with Spanish-speaking students. The district currently serves 752 Afghans total — including 510 recent arrivals.

Brannon said the students, having seen the district honor its Latino population with cultural celebrations, asked that they have an opportunity to explain the Islamic holidays of Eid and Ramadan to their peers. During an April assembly, the students gave a brief presentation on Ramadan and did some traditional dances and, roughly a month later, shared a second presentation, teaching their classmates about the end of Ramadan and the celebration of Eid.

Brannon said the only discernible difference between Afghan students and their classmates is that the Afghan kids approach school officials as a group. 

“When one kid has an issue, they come to the office as six,” he said. “They want to show up for their friends.” 

The Afghan students’ presence, he added, has only made the school community richer. 

“We have people from everywhere with all sorts of different backgrounds and experiences and they all bring something positive to this school,” he said. “It’s a chance for us to learn from — and about — somebody from a different culture and that adds to our knowledge of the world and our place in it.”

From Oct. 31 through Nov. 12, roughly 20,000 international leaders and climate advocates will gather in Glasgow, Scotland for the conference known as COP26. The next annual meeting is an opportunity to shape global climate priorities — during COP21, which took place in 2015, the landmark Paris Agreement was adopted to limit global warming. 

This year’s conference is hosted by the United Kingdom, where climate and girls’ education has been prioritized over the last year. In 2021 the country led both the and Summit. In May, G7 countries reinforced political commitments for girls’ education, reaffirming that it’s a human right and setting two goals for the global community by 2026: 40 million more girls in school and 20 million more girls reading by age 10 or the end of primary school.

“There’s a lot of pressure on this COP to accelerate progress on the Paris Agreement and there will be some progress. However, I think the question will be: ‘is it enough?’” Naomi Nyamweya, a lead researcher with the Malala Fund, told ĂÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ by email. “Leaving girls behind undermines gender equality and governments’ ability to deliver on ”

Climate crises will prevent an estimated 4 million girls in lower- and middle- income countries from accessing education in 2021, according to the . With current policy and emission trends, weather-related disruptions will prevent 12.5 million girls from finishing their education by 2025. 

“We need leaders to see that climate change, girls’ education and gender equality aren’t separate issues,” Nyamweya added.

Quality, compulsory education for girls may to facilitate climate action, like literacy and critical thinking. And if climate curricula is prioritized alongside access to schools, young leaders can understand value in solutions that move beyond one-off, technical swaps to renewable energy, for example. Millions more can learn to assess climate threats and their root causes and support policies to curb poverty and environmental racism. 

An of countries with female political representation found that they are more likely to adopt stricter climate policies and have fewer carbon emissions. The findings further solidify arguments that investing in girls’ education and their pathways to leadership will yield positive outcomes for the earth. 

Countries can also build stronger, low-carbon economies with more girls’ educated and entering the workforce. Particularly if their education includes, as advocates and hope, career and technical . 

Climate change, and any possible solutions, are becoming harder to ignore. 

Despite at past climate talks, many countries are not currently naming climate change education, or girls’ education, as part of their policy strategy. of recently updated ‘Nationally Determined Contributions’ (NDCs) from 73 countries revealed that less than a quarter mention youth or children and none call for mandatory climate change education as a strategy, including the ’s plan.

While NDCs are not the “end-all-be-all” of climate policy, they are the most visible, guiding document for nations to support Paris Agreement goals, says researcher Christina Kwauk, who penned the report and is a nonresident fellow with the Brookings Institute. 

If girls’ education continues to be omitted from the documents, she told ĂÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ, the priority will likely be overlooked in subsequent policies, strategies and initiatives — like expanding career and vocational training for green jobs or leadership.

“Girls’ education is going to be collateral damage from climate change, if we’re not paying attention to it. From the research we know that investing in girls’ education can be a powerful climate solution, why aren’t we talking about these two hand in hand?” Kwauk said. “If our education system isn’t helping us to address those structural and systemic aspects of the climate crisis, we will have wasted some really valuable years.”

If quality girls’ education and reproductive health care are provided over the next 30 years, (mass roughly equal to 16 billion elephants) of carbon dioxide emissions could be avoided, according to researchers with the international nonprofit , who estimate the impact of particular climate solutions. That is over four times more impactful than increasing concentrated solar power in the same timeframe.

Advocates caution against using Project Drawdown’s oft-quoted measure of impact as the sole driver for expanding girls’ education. 

“Many stakeholders link girls’ education to reducing emissions, due to decreased fertility rates, however this places the burden of mitigating climate change on those least responsible for its cause and undermines a rights-based approach. We advocate for girls’ education as it is their right, and can equip them with the skills and knowledge to take climate action, adapt to impacts, be more resilient and engage in policy processes,” Plan International’s Jessica Cooke, a London-based expert in climate change and resilience programming, told ĂÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ via email. 

Cooke will attend the U.N. conference this year with colleagues and youth activists to call for transformative education policy that advances both climate and gender justice. 

“A gender-transformative education can equip girls with the skills and knowledge needed to tackle the climate crisis, claim and exercise their rights, and empower them to be leaders and decision-makers, including by challenging the systems and norms which reinforce gender, climate, racial and social injustices around the world,” Cooke added. 

Roughly one third of girls don’t currently feel confident participating in climate policy processes, fewer boys feel the same hesitancy — about 25 percent, a recent Plan International revealed. And over 80 percent of youth surveyed in 37 nations, including the U.S., say that they don’t know anything about their country’s climate policy and that efforts to include them in decision making are insufficient. 

More womens’ rights and feminist organizations are pushing for climate education policy as they begin to “see climate justice as a key aspect of work for gender equality,” said Bridget Burns, director of Women’s Environment & Development Organization. Her group partners with U.N. and government agencies as advisors on intersectional policy. 

Similar thinking is underway at the U.S. federal level on the eve of the conference. At the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, Frank Niepold leads climate education efforts and holds a singular leadership role for the U.S. with the UN’s Action for Climate Empowerment. He served as a U.S. delegate to the 2015 climate conference.

Niepold told ĂÛÌÒÓ°ÊÓ that he’s searching for ways to collaborate with other agencies to support girls’ education as a key climate strategy. The infrastructure for dialogue leaves something to be desired. Beyond the climate talks — which are focused on the national level — there is not an existing support system for international groups to collaborate with sub-national agencies like his, which implements policies to protect the environment.

“A gender equity focus on educational programming at the federal level — it is missing,” he said, but added, “I think it’s emerging.”

Niepold confirmed that education remains on the negotiating table for this year’s talks. 

Many are closely watching to see what the U.S. prioritizes during and following the conference, especially given that President Biden’s key . The president originally planned to tout the move — to replace coal and gas power plants with wind, solar and nuclear energy sources — as an example of his country’s commitment to climate solutions and infrastructure.

In 2017, former President Trump pledged to drop out of the Paris accord; the U.S. was the first country in the world to . At the last in-person climate talks in 2019, over whether his re-election would further block meaningful climate action globally. President Biden has since made the current administration’s position on climate change clear, rejoining the agreement in February 2021. 

The Aspen Institute’s Laura Schifter, who’s heading up a new to make school infrastructure more sustainable, remains hopeful that the nation is now prepared to back more education-centered climate solutions. 

“The U.S. has the potential of really being an international leader in this space,” she said. “We have the administration right now committed to climate issues, we have schools across the country who have been experiencing climate impacts. We have a real need 
 the time is really right for education to mobilize and start taking climate action.”