This paper reports on data from seventy-eight 9-11 year old children attending four schools that had participated in a national numeracy initiative in New Zealand. Children's responses to a multi-digit addition problem, including alternative solution strategies, and their ideas about the importance of getting the "right answer" were analysed. Separate analysis of the responses of girls and boys revealed interesting gender differences. Girls in the study were more likely to give an alternative strategy for solving a multi-digit problem than boys, but more boys than girls reported that effort put into a problem was more important than getting a correct solution.