[ardent_uno]

Except given the data they provide, boys in middle class families also seem to be doing better than girls.

Boys in general like math more than girls. Math is a competitive exercise and women are in general less competitive than men. It's you vs the formula, at least at the level of grade school math. There's less room for error than a subject like Literature which is more open to interpretation, where assignments often can't be "wrong", at least in an obvious way.

I believe that striving for equality in math outcomes, especially at high levels, ignores the way many women think.