Certain cues, such as the beginning of math class, resurrect the feelings of low self-esteem and ineptitude that accompanied those seminal experiences, and the student becomes unwilling or unable to adapt to new situations, even ones entirely within her control. The student comes to feel that there is little sense putting forth effort because she will not be able to do the problem anyway. The feelings of helplessness can transfer across tasks and become indelibly associated with math itself. The methods of instruction may influence girls' achievement as well. For instance, there is some limited evidence that boys learn more on computers than girls, which raises important, unanswered equity questions.
Educators can take several actions to reduce or eliminate gender inequities in mathematics.
At the building level, the school administrator can put together professional development workshops to help the whole staff learn to create a fairer environment. At the classroom level, teachers can monitor their own behavior and attitudes more closely, taking care to eliminate sex bias. At the student level, teachers can initiate activities that confront sex bias head on. New studies suggest the efforts to reduce inequities that have occured over the last several years may be paying off. A very recent study shows that as late as tenth grade, girls and boys are scoring equally well on basic math tests.