Gender differences of academic performance in compulsory education in rural Southwestern China

Based on data from the Southwest Basic Education Project, this paper provides an empirical estimation of gender gaps in Chinese and math among primary and lower-secondary school students in poor counties of Southwestern China. Major findings from 2-level HLM analysis by grade (3, 5, 7, and 9) include: (1) small positive gaps favoring girls in Chinese and negative gaps in math were found for all grades. (2) Gaps were larger in higher grades, girls' advantage in Chinese experienced a small increase over the 2006-2010 period, and gaps varied by province. (3) Being a minority and having a low SES interplayed with gender in some circumstances.