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The truth about boys and girls


File number :
CS-ISC-28e

Bibliographic reference :
Mead, S. (2006). The truth about boys and girls. Education Sector, Washington. 21 pages. [On line] <http://www.educationsector.org/>.


Abstract :

his American study runs counter to theories assuming that a boy crisis is prevalent in education. A comparison of academic results drawn from a national statistical survey conducted in the United States (1970 to 2005) showed that in general, the level of boys’ academic achievement improved during this period. However, girls progressed much faster than boys. This survey also showed that the cross-gender gap observed in academic results had not changed much in thirty years because achievement gaps among students seemed more related to their ethnic and socio-economic groups.

Methodology
Data was drawn from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) conducted by the U.S. Department of Education. This survey has compiled data on the achievement in reading, mathematics and other academic subjects of fourth and eighth (middle school) graders along with twelfth graders (high school) since the 1990s.

Main Results
No major change was observed in boys’ academic results since 1990. The results of grade school boys even improved. The results of middle school boys also improved in mathematics, reading, history and writing, but their results in geography and sciences remained the same. As for twelfth grade high school boys, their academic results dropped in all academic subjects, except for mathematics.

These trends cut across all racial and ethnic groups (Caucasian, Afro-American and Hispanic). However, the NAEP results revealed that Caucasian boys’ results were always better than those of Afro-American and Hispanic boys.

Girls outperformed their male counterparts in reading and writing at all academic grade levels. But in mathematics, sciences and geography, boys outperformed girls by a slight margin. There was no significant gender gap with regard to results in history.

Like the boys, girls’ results in twelfth grade dropped. Based on this study, the observed results of older students dropped for girls and boys alike, emphasizing the importance of focusing on the achievement of girls as much as on that of their male counterparts.

Likewise, Caucasian girls outperformed ethnic minority (Afro-American and Hispanic) girls, regardless of the discipline.

Lastly, analysis of the results according to the socio-economic level showed once more that the achievement gap among different social groups is greater than the cross-gender gap.

Conclusion
The results of this study runs counter to the widespread belief that boys’ academic achievement is declining; in fact, it has never been better. However, the fact that girls’ progress is faster led to a greater gap between the latter’s academic results and those of boys. Educational inequalities do not depend primarily on gender, but on ethnicity and socio-economic level.



Links :

http://www.educationsector.org/

 

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Key Words :
Gender, Ethnicity, Socio-economic Status, Boy Crisis in Education, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Elementary, Primary, Secondary/High School, Newsletter4

Monitored Countries :
United States