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Global data on math achievement is revealing a dismaying trend: Girls are doing worse than boys — and the margins are huge.

In 2023, fourth-grade boys outperformed their female peers in a vast majority of schools, growing the gender gap that existed prior to the pandemic, according to an international study released last week.

Among eighth-graders, the rate of boys scoring higher than girls increased exponentially since 2019, rolling back gains in math equity that had been shaping up for more than a decade. Matthias Eck, a program specialist for UNESCO’s Section of Education for Inclusion and Gender Equality, tells EdSurge that prior data showed girls were catching up with boys in math achievement.

“But in the latest data, we see that the gap is widening again between girls and boys, and that’s at the detriment of girls, which is quite concerning,” he says.

This international trend echoes what U.S. analysts saw when data from the Nation’s Report Card was released last year.

The latest analysis is based on data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), a global study published every four years that measures math and science achievement among fourth- and eighth-grade students. The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement performed the analysis in partnership with UNESCO.

Widening Achievement Gaps

The new data is part of the first set of TIMSS results that measure student performance following the onset of the pandemic. The analysis shows that among top performers in fourth grade, 85 percent of counties’ results skewed toward boys. Slightly over half of the countries and territories from which data was collected have an advanced math achievement gap that favors eighth-grade boys, while none are lopsided toward girls in either grade.

Eck, one of the report’s authors, argues the data shows a correlation between longer school closures and higher rates of learning loss in math, with some variation among countries and territories. “One of the hypotheses is really that those disruptions during the pandemic may have exacerbated existing disparities and have reduced learning opportunities for girls, and potentially those that were at risk of low achievement have been more affected,” Eck says. “The fact that girls were out of school and were not in the learning environment, it could have impacted their confidence, but that’s just the hypothesis.”

But the numbers contain other alarming signals.

For example, the share of regions with a gender gap among fourth-grade students who are failing to reach basic math proficiency is on the rise, and most of them have a higher proportion of struggling girls, according to the report. And while the gender gap in underperformance among eighth-graders is shrinking, the proportion of countries and territories where girls have a higher failure rate spiked.

Researchers are being cautious when it comes to drawing conclusions about the causes behind the results, but girls’ experience of gender stereotypes and confidence in their math abilities can play a role.

“Boys and girls are equally able in mathematics, but these learning outcomes can be shaped by a range of factors,” Eck explains, “and that can be persistent gender stereotypes, but also teacher expectations — and they’re based, of course, on those gender stereotypes.”

Targeted Solutions

UNESCO is pushing education systems across the globe to take a hard look at whether their gender equity strategies are working, especially efforts aimed at younger students.

Eck notes that the consequences of girls’ achievement in math can have far-reaching effects in their lives — and very real consequences in societies writ large. “We know that mathematics is quite foundational to learning across the school subjects, it’s also critical for pathways into science, technology, engineering, mathematics careers,” he says. “These sectors are at the center of innovation, technology advancement, inclusive growth and sustainable development, so that’s quite concerning in terms of those sectors.”

But there’s no widely accepted solution to this problem.

Increasing girls’ math performance will take work at the national policy level, local communities, within families and the culture of classrooms, Eck says. And changes have to include challenging gender stereotypes that limit how far girls think they can go in mathematics, he adds.

“I think what is really critical is that we see those large gaps emerging early, at the fourth grade level when students usually are around 9 or 10 years old,” he says. “That means that whatever we do, the action we take to address the issue must start quite early and must be very targeted.”

A viewer handed over a Reevo hubless electric bike with one clear condition. Fix it first, then bring it back better than before. The machine already carried a heavy reputation for every shortcut and oversight that can sink an ambitious design. Original plans leaned hard into a futuristic look. Large hubless wheels replaced traditional spokes. A sculpted body hid most of the mechanics. Nearly every useful function, from lights to wheel locks to performance modes, ran through a smartphone app. Once the company behind that app stopped supporting it, large parts of the bike simply stopped responding.

The construction of this bike mirrored the flaws in the software. Plastic panels were held up by inexpensive inserts that grew loose or broke with regular use. Exposed wires and unsecured shroud covers gave the frame the appearance of having been put together by someone who had never heard the term “professional job.” The motor was purposefully lowered in the first place, so even a minor climb would leave passengers pushing or walking. The brakes appeared rather feeble and frequently squeaked at you to let you know they were having troubles, and don’t get me started on the constant high-pitched whining from the extra headlamp component.

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Seth from the Berm Peak channel decided to tackle this disaster. He started by pulling everything up. The controller and circuit board were housed within the main motor housing, and the labels could be read in English, which was remarkable. That made a big difference in understanding how everything worked, which was before a mystery. A four-wire serial cable was connected to a laptop running simple terminal software at 115200 baud, and data started to flow in.

Next, he solved the Bluetooth problem; it turned out that the first pairing process merely spewed the password in plain text over the serial link, and one or two deliberate failed attempts yielded the code “696969”. With the key in hand, he had complete access of the bike’s internal controls. He could then look for an older Android app that explained what each button and sensor was intended to do in the first place. Button presses for assist levels, throttle, and brakes all produced consistent results that could be repeated and improved.

The bike’s OEM display was not working. Seth replaced it with a low-cost ESP32-S3 touchscreen board and wrote custom code to turn the small 2.8-inch LCD into a fully functional dashboard. Speed, battery percentage, and trip distance are all shown in a clear 7-segment format, and the touch screen allows you to adjust the headlight, badge light, kickstand lock, and pedal assist levels, ranging from basic eco mode to turbo. A PIN entry screen allows you to lock the bike when you park it, and extended brake squeezes now flash the lights to alert anyone nearby of a potential problem. To prevent the bike from starting moving on its own, an inactivity timer reduces help to zero after ten minutes.

Physical repairs addressed the bike’s deteriorated body. He glued the shattered brass inserts within the plastic panels back into place using 3D-printed adapters. Cracks and holes were repaired with strips of yellow reflector tape, and that was it. The original grips were replaced with new ones. A noisy electroluminescent headlight transformer was replaced with a basic 12-volt LED, and the twisted kickstand was secured with loctite. The original brake pads were replaced, but the builder kept them since the noise provided a good warning to anyone around.

The most significant change came from the motor controller, where a firmware update fixed the artificial power limits that had been holding the bike back in the first place, allowing it to deliver the full 750 watts it was supposed to, and hills that had previously required effort now move along with a steady pull. The same controller work also allowed the new screen to govern the kickstand servo, ensuring that when the stand is erected, the wheel lock is promptly engaged.

As he progressed, safety features were integrated throughout the interface, with warning flags on the screen screaming “turn off” if assist mode was left on and the bike was in risk of entering a terrifying runaway mode. You can simply adjust a few settings and send commands to the bike using the built-in wifi we configured, without having to redo the entire code, change the PIN, update the bluetooth key, or communicate whatever you want, all without installing any additional software. The good news is that most of these modifications will remain without having you to modify the firmware.

Tests confirmed that everything eventually added up. The panels stopped moving and rattling on their mounts. The screen would come to life when you touched it. Even after the issue with the app was resolved, the lights and signals continued to function properly. The power appeared adequate, and you could rely on it not to do anything foolish. Most importantly, the machine began to feel like a bike you could ride every day, rather than a dismal reminder of how much work needed to be done to make it perfect.
[Source]

Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit has been supercharged with AI agents, which might make it significantly easier to bring a game to the Mac.

While iOS 27 and Siri were the stars of the WWDC 2026 keynote, Apple hasn’t forgotten about the Mac as a gaming platform. While we didn’t get any triple-A game announcements this time around, the company did unveil a significant upgrade with Game Porting Toolkit 4.

The utility, as its name implies, is meant to help bring games to macOS. With the fourth release of its Game Porting Toolkit, Apple has implemented support for AI agents as part of the porting process.

“A new companion repository on Apple’s GitHub brings together open-source agent skills and sample code to help you leverage AI coding agents,” says the developer-focused announcement.

Apple’s website says that AI agents can help speed up game porting, as they offer deep Metal knowledge throughout the process. Agents are now capable of capturing, debugging, and profiling Metal workloads directly, as they now have command-line access to Metal tools.

Additionally, the evaluation environment within Game Porting Toolkit 4 now supports Metal 4, letting developers “test compatibility and performance against the latest API.”

Metal itself is hardware-dependent graphics and compute API. The original Metal framework is available on Macs as far back as 2012, while Metal 4 is only available on products with an Apple Silicon chip.

Overall, Apple says that Game Porting Toolkit 4 will greatly reduce the time, cost, and effort needed to bring a game to the Mac. The toolkit is still in beta testing, though, so it remains to be seen just how useful Apple’s AI agents will be.

Apple’s creative AI hub Image Playground will be capable of creating “photorealistic” AI images, thanks to new AI models running behind the scenes. Apple announced the news at WWDC 2026, the company’s annual developers conference. 

Image Playground is one of Apple’s original AI hubs, where you can create images with generative AI. Now, that content should be more customizable and look less like plastic AI slop. You will be able to edit specific parts of an image — an important capability for error-prone AI — by tapping on it and describing the change you want with a simple text prompt.

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You’ll be able to use these AI creations across your device, including to make contact posters and backgrounds.

This WWDC, we’re getting our first look at the next generation of Apple software, including iOS 27. It’s also Tim Cook’s last event as CEO, with hardware chief John Ternus expected to step up into the top role before its September iPhone 18 event.

Every major tech company has become invested in AI in recent years. Apple isn’t an exception, but it has taken a more measured approach since launching its AI two years ago. That’s all changing today as the company is expected to unveil its most significant updates to Apple Intelligence yet, specifically in the form of a new-and-improved Siri.

Rush Digital Marketing observes a recurring tension among coaches, consultants, and agencies navigating growth: the choice often leans toward either building systems independently through time-intensive programs or engaging ongoing service providers that manage execution externally. Each path presents its own set of considerations, and within this dynamic, the firm introduces Nexus Install as a structured model that combines implementation and eventual ownership within a defined engagement.

Amanda Rush

As the marketing consulting space continues to expand, these dynamics become more pronounced. The global marketing consulting market is projected to reach $45.5 billion in 2031, with continued growth driven by increasing complexity in digital ecosystems and demand for more accountable outcomes. Within this environment, coaches and consultants are engaging with a wider array of delivery models, from modular consulting to subscription-based advisory. Rush Digital Marketing notes that this growing diversity reflects a broader shift toward flexibility, while also introducing additional layers of decision-making for professionals shaping their client acquisition strategies.

“Many professionals already understand how to close conversations effectively. The challenge often lies in creating a system where those conversations arrive with consistency and direction,” Rush explains. This observation informs the company’s method for designing outreach systems that emphasize predictability and thoughtful sequencing over sporadic bursts of activity.

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Rush Digital Marketing emphasizes that the traditional retainer model continues to play an important role across the industry, particularly for businesses that value ongoing external support. At the same time, it acknowledges that some coaches, consultants, and organizations may be interested in having more direct involvement with the systems that generate their opportunities.

Nexus Install, designed as a 60-day build-and-handover experience, is positioned as a response to that nuance. The structure follows a carefully defined timeline. The initial phase focuses on building the client’s LinkedIn lead-generation system from the ground up, defining the target audience, developing messaging sequences, and launching outreach campaigns designed to initiate early engagement.

Consequently, the second phase transitions into guided ownership, where clients learn how to interpret performance data, manage conversations, and refine messaging based on real-time feedback. “Ownership changes the relationship people have with their growth,” Rush states. “I believe that when someone understands the system and can guide it themselves, their confidence in decision-making tends to expand.”

This balance between immediate traction and long-term sustainability plays a central role in the experience. The system is designed to operate independently once established, requiring a relatively modest daily time commitment. At the same time, ongoing support remains available through structured touchpoints such as weekly Q&A sessions.

This model has developed over time. According to Rush, the Nexus framework itself has undergone years of internal refinement, with extensive testing before being introduced as a client-facing offering. That process reflects a deliberate effort to help ensure the system performs consistently across different use cases while remaining adaptable to individual markets.

Client experiences offer an additional perspective on how this model translates in practice. One coach described seeing a noticeable increase in relevant connections and conversations within a few months, alongside a growing sense of alignment between outreach efforts and business goals. Another founder said, “What impressed me most wasn’t just the results, but the process. The Rush Team is obsessive about testing and refining the messaging until it performs. Every week, they brought new data, insights, and tweaks that pushed our numbers higher.” In a separate case, a consultant shared how the initial implementation period led to sustained engagement long after active collaboration had concluded, with new opportunities continuing to emerge organically.

These experiences reinforce Rush Digital Marketing’s belief that structured systems, when understood and owned, can continue to deliver value beyond the initial build phase. For coaches and consultants evaluating their options, Nexus Install introduces an additional dimension to consider. “At Rush Digital Marketing, we want the conversation to extend beyond choosing between learning independently and delegating entirely,” Rush remarks. “We want it to become an exploration of how systems can be both built and transferred in a way that supports ongoing growth without needing continuous external management.“