Now girls have the advantage in school

Star Tribune
May 22, 2002
Katherine Kersten

Is there gender bias in American schools? Evidence is growing that the answer is yes. But if you think it's girls who are suffering, you're wrong. Today, boys are on the short end of the academic stick, and their performance gap with girls is both startling and alarming.

Thus far, few educators have acknowledged or addressed the problem of widespread male academic underachievement. But the Edina Public Schools are taking the matter seriously. The district's interest began two years ago, when superintendent Ken Dragseth and his staff noticed that girls were dominating the district's academic awards ceremonies. Was this gender gap real or perceived? Intrigued, Dragseth set up a gender task force, which began collecting what became a mountain of data.

In April, the Edina schools released the resulting report, entitled "Gender Difference and Student Learning." The study's findings, which mirror state, national and international data, are deeply troubling. They demonstrate that even in Edina -- one of Minnesota's highest-performing, highest-income school districts -- boys now lag behind girls on most measures of academic performance and social well-being.

To start with, girls tend to earn higher grades. In grades 6-12 in Edina, girls make up 67 percent of students who achieve top class rank and 60 percent of all academic award winners. Likewise, girls make up 65 percent of students on the A Honor Roll, and 59 percent of those on the B Honor Roll.

Girls are also more engaged with school. At the secondary level, fully 84 percent of Edina girls report liking school, while only 64 percent of boys do so. More girls than boys report that they are encouraged at school (52 percent vs. 42 percent). Likewise, 75 percent of girls -- but only 56 percent of boys -- report doing homework daily.

While girls dominate the high end of the academic spectrum, boys dominate the low end. In Edina, boys outnumber girls among low-achieving students in most elementary grades and in all types of secondary school alternative programs. Three out of four special education students are boys, as are 73 percent of students taking medication for attention deficit disorder. Ninety percent of Edina students who are suspended or involved in disciplinary incidents are boys. They are also much more likely to be victims of violence and to engage in risky or antisocial behavior like marijuana use and property destruction.

Nationally, the story is the same. According to the U.S. Department of Education, American girls are a year and a half ahead of boys in reading proficiency and have far better writing skills. Boys still perform slightly better than girls in math, but the gap is rapidly closing, thanks in part to special programs designed to boost girls' performance.

Across the nation, girls dominate extracurricular activities like student government, after-school clubs and school newspapers. They also have significantly higher educational aspirations than boys. Today, college students are 57 percent female and 43 percent male, and more women than men go on to graduate school. (The federal government has calculated that by 2007, there will be 9.2 million female college students and only 6.9 million males.)

Taken together, these statistics suggest a looming problem of serious proportions, as millions of boys leave school insufficiently prepared for work and citizenship in an information society.

Why are so many boys failing to achieve their academic potential? Researchers like Michael Gurian -- author of "Boys and Girls Learn Differently!" -- point out that in today's female-dominated schools, classroom climate and instructional practices tend to favor girls.

Until about 40 years ago, American classrooms were generally "teacher-centered." Lessons were highly structured, and discipline was strict. Teachers emphasized fact-based learning and drill, and grading was competitive. But with the rise of "progressive" education, a "child-centered" approach became the norm. Progressive pedagogy deemphasized structure in favor of "discovery learning," and focused on enhancing creativity and self-esteem rather than imparting knowledge. Teachers began to discourage competition, and promote cooperative group learning.

Instructional changes like these appear to have hurt boys. Boys tend to be less mature, more impulsive and more easily bored than girls. As a result, they benefit from structured lessons, clear expectations and strict deadlines.

Boys also need firm, consistent discipline. Today, classroom discipline is often inconsistent, and lacks the authoritative tone to which boys are most likely to respond.

Finally, boys tend to thrive on competition, and frequently flounder in collaborative group settings. One researcher has summed matters up this way: "By rejecting the old-fashioned ladder of tests, measurable achievement and competition, incentives were lost that had once given school a comprehensible point to many pupils -- particularly the male ones."

It's true that 30 years ago, girls lagged behind boys in certain important educational respects. Back then, for example, more boys than girls attended college, and the gender gap in math and science was sizable. But today, the pendulum has swung far in the opposite direction. Why do we hear so little about boys' plight? Largely, it's because vocal, ideologically driven feminist organizations continue to assure the public that American schools shortchange girls.

It's crucial, however, that -- like the Edina school district -- we look beyond ideological claims to the hard facts of male underachievement. Today, alienated young men, ill-prepared for work and family responsibilities, are at the heart of many of our nation's most serious social problems. If we wish to harness their talents and engage them in our civic enterprise, we must make changes that will boost their academic performance.

-Katherine Kersten is a senior fellow of the Center of the American Experiment in Minneapolis.