Also (I realize I am hijacking my own thread), on the question of boys having greater variability and more representation in the 95th-99th%, there is this study:
http://www.pnas.org/content/106/22/8801.long"Do gender differences in mathematics performance exist in the general population? Do gender differences exist among the mathematically talented? Do females exist who possess profound mathematical talent? In regard to the first question, contemporary data indicate that girls in the U.S. have reached parity with boys in mathematics performance, a pattern that is found in some other nations as well. Focusing on the second question, studies find more males than females scoring above the 95th or 99th percentile, but this gender gap has significantly narrowed over time in the U.S. and is not found among some ethnic groups and in some nations. Furthermore, data from several studies indicate that greater male variability with respect to mathematics is not ubiquitous. Rather, its presence correlates with several measures of gender inequality. Thus, it is largely an artifact of changeable sociocultural factors, not immutable, innate biological differences between the sexes. Responding to the third question, we document the existence of females who possess profound mathematical talent. Finally, we review mounting evidence that both the magnitude of mean math gender differences and the frequency of identification of gifted and profoundly gifted females significantly correlate with sociocultural factors, including measures of gender equality across nations. "
I personally am very suspicious of any supposedly "biological" difference between the sexes that has narrowed immensely in the extraordinarily brief period of less than 50 years. What on earth makes us think that okay, *NOW,* just at this very moment, we have suddenly reached the point of No More Bias, This is How It REALLY Is? Hubris.
ETA that I am now reading the entire article cited above and it's really very interesting. It punctures the Boys Innately Have Greater Variability and Greater Tendency Toward Extreme Math Talent theory pretty decisively. I have electronic access to the full article through my job; unfortunately, I am sure the full text isn't free.
