Girls consistently out perform boys in mathematics in Hawai'i. Starting from the premise that literacy is a prerequisite for mathematics learning, a causal model was proposed to account for gender differences in mathematics on multiple choice (MC) and constructed response (CR) items in conjunction with the effects of reading and writing. Two separate path analyses were conducted using the statewide 2002 Hawai'i State Assessment (HSA) data of the grade three and grade five cohorts. With their verbal advantage taken into consideration, girls are found to be disfavored on both MC and CR items, with MC items proving to be more challenging than CR items. These results call attention to gender appropriate pedagogical approaches to optimize mathematics learning for boys and girls in Hawai'i.