 |
|
Email Secretary
of Education Rod Paige
Rod.Paige@ed.gov
|
|
 |
Press Release - November 20, 2004... |
Study Shows Educational
Achievement Gender Gap Shrinking
Many of the educational gaps
between males and females have been closed
U.S. Department of
Education
The large academic achievement gaps
that once existed between males and females have been eliminated in
most cases and have significantly decreased in others, according to
a new study by the U.S. Department of Education.
In elementary school, female fourth-graders outperformed their male
peers in reading (2003) and writing (2002) assessments. Gender
differences in mathematics achievement have been small and
fluctuated slightly between 1990 and 2003. At the secondary school
level, the gap in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
reading achievement grew from 10 points in 1992 to 16 points in
2002, with males performing lower than females. Females entering
college baccalaureate programs were more likely than their male
counterparts to graduate within six years. In 2001, the overall
participation rate of females in adult education was higher than
that of their male peers (53 percent vs. 46 percent).
Other findings are that:
 |
Females are less likely to repeat
a grade and to drop out of high school. |
|
Differences based on gender in
math and science course-taking appear to be shrinking. |
|
Female high school seniors tend
to have higher educational aspirations than their male peers.
|
|
Females have made substantial
progress at the graduate level overall, but they still earn
fewer than half of the degrees in many fields. |
"It is clear
that girls are taking education very seriously and that they have
made tremendous strides," said U.S. Secretary of Education Rod
Paige. "The issue now is that boys seem to be falling behind. We
need to spend some time researching the problem so that we can give
boys the support to succeed academically."
The study presents comparisons between males and females regarding
preprimary education, elementary and secondary education,
postsecondary education, and educational outcomes. Women overall
have made substantial gains over the past 30 years educationally,
although they are still underrepresented in some fields of study,
such as computer science, engineering, and physical sciences, as
well as more generally in doctoral and first-professional degree
programs, the study found.
Trends in Educational Equity of Girls and Women was produced by the
Department's National Center for Education Statistics in the
Institute of Education Sciences, and responds to legislation under
the No Child Left Behind Act. It is an update and substantial
revision of an earlier study released in 2000.
To download or view the report, please visit:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2005016
|
|
 |
