Comparison Between Performance Levels for Mathematical Competence: Results for the Sex Variable

Abstract

Schools promote all-round education for each of their students. This requires teachers to work on all of the possibilities offered by a subject, including mathematical ability. This process of adjustment and individualization is essential for students who have excellent performance or aptitudes. This study uses an ex post facto, descriptive and quantitative research methodology to examine the results of giving the online version of the Evaluation Battery for Mathematical Ability (BECOMA On) to 3795 5th-year primary school students. The sample was selected from 147 Spanish schools from 16 autonomous regions and 2 autonomous municipalities. Three levels of performance were identified, 3 being the highest, and different statistical indices were calculated for each of them. The results were also analyzed according to sex, with statistically significant differences in the highest performance level. In addition, the study highlighted a diagnostic gap in the identification of higher capacity students, a pending challenge for education systems for the educational inclusion of all students.