A statistical combination was conducted on past research examining gender differences in the locus of control beliefs of elementary school children. The review revealed that females tend to score more internally than males in totaland failure-outcome locus of control, as measured by the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility (IAR) Scale. A new administration of the IAR (N » 425) revealed significantly more female internality for both success and failure outcomes—but only at the end of the school year. Also, females cited effort as the cause of success more often than males. These results are at odds with those found in studies that manipulated success and failure events. Possible reasons for the reversal are discussed. The results suggest (a) greater female internality exists in elementary school, but the gender difference is small; (b) the roots of lesser female adult achievement behavior may not be found in elementary school belief systems; and (c) it may be improper to conclude that young females express a helplessness pattern of attributions with regard to the achievement domain.