Two studies explore gender gaps that favor girls in low-stakeslearning contexts yet are not evident in high-stakesachievement measures. Study 1 (n = 386) combined controldata across multiple experiments testing student’s learningfrom a challenging proportional reasoning lesson to exploreconsistent gender gaps in favor of girls. This learning gap couldnot be explained by the baseline mathematics, affective,motivational, or Executive Function individual differences wemeasured. In Study 2 (n =178), we experimentally manipulatedpressure, raising the stakes by telling some students that theirperformance would determine whether or not their entire classreceived an incentive. Gender gaps in favor of girls remainedin the absence of pressure, but when external pressure wasimposed before or after learning, the female advantagedisappeared. These data suggest managing feelings of pressurein learning or testing contexts may be an important step inultimately increasing female representation in math-intensivefields.

Individual differences in Executive Function (EF) are well established to be related to overall mathematics achievement, yet the mechanisms by which this occurs are not well understood. Comparing representations (problems, solutions, concepts) is central to mathematical thinking, and relational reasoning is known to rely upon EF resources. The current manuscript explored whether individual differences in EF predicted learning from a conceptually demanding mathematics lesson that required relational reasoning. Analyses revealed that variations in EF predicted learning when measured at a delay, controlling for pretest scores. Thus, EF capacity may impact students' overall mathematics achievement by constraining their resources available to learn from cognitively demanding reasoning opportunities in everyday lessons. To assess the ecological validity of this interpretation, we report follow-up interviews with mathematics teachers who raised similar concerns that cognitively demanding activities such as comparing multiple representations in mathematics may differentially benefit their high versus struggling learners. Broader implications for ensuring that all students have access to, and benefit from, conceptually rich mathematics lessons are discussed. We also highlight the utility of integrating methods in Science of Learning (SL) research.