Despite progress toward gender equity, troubling disparities in mathematical problem-solving performance and related outcomes persist. To investigate why, we build on recurrent findings in previous studies to introduce a new construct, "bold problem solving," which involves approaching mathematics problems in inventive ways. We introduce…

Whether male and female high school students of high mathematics ability use different solution strategies on problems whose responses had previously shown gender differences was studied with 25 males and 22 females. Females were more likely to use conventional problem-solving strategies, and the use of conventional strategies was associated with…

This study investigated the strategies subjects adopted to solve STEM-equivalent SAT-Mathematics (SAT-M) word problems in constructed-response (CR) and multiple-choice (MC) formats. Parallel test forms of CR and MC items were administered to subjects representing a range of mathematical abilities. Format-related differences in difficulty were more…