Gender and Differences in School Performance in Reading and in Mathematics in Italian Schools

The paper takes gender into consideration in assessing if and how much this ascribed factor impacts school performance. The effects of gender connected to the type of school attended and to the geographical area of residence are analysed. Although there are gender gaps in literacy resulting from the OECD ‘PISA - Programme for International Student Assessment’ study - with greater female proficiency in text comprehension and greater male ability in conceptual skill in mathematics - it seems, however, that these trends can be significantly mitigated by the type of school attended and by the geographical area of residence. The paper takes into consideration the Italian case.