***Editor’s note: This is the second in a planned series of stories analysing the Education Data Report 2021.***
The 'achievement gap' between Year 11 girls and boys in Cayman Islands public schools shrank to its smallest margin on record in 2021.
However, "girls are outperforming boys in all metrics" including English, Maths, Science and in terms of meeting the 'national expectation' of achieving 5 or more Level 2 passes (including English and Maths) on standardised exams, according to the Education Data Report 2021.
In the Spring 2021 external exams, 79% of girls passed English, compared to 55% of boys, while 45% of girls passed Maths, compared to 42% of boys.
Overall, 43% of girls met the national expectations, compared to 38% of boys.
The 5-point achievement gap between girls and boys is the smallest on record since data became available in 2016. The closing of the gap can be attributed to boys improving their scores in Maths while girls' scores in Maths have declined or stagnated.
Since 2016, the boys' pass rate in Maths has increased from 33% to 42%. Meanwhile, the girls' pass rate in Maths declined from 48% to 45%.
***Editor's note: We have excluded from this analysis results from the 2020 exams, which were administered differently due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, education officials have cautioned against comparing 2020 results to other years.***