This essay will look at the differences between girls' and boys' academic achievements and examination results, and at some of the reasons for the differences.
Reports from the government, reinforced by the media have fuelled panic spreading through educational establishments and homes alike over the under-achievement of boys at school. The gender gap is apparently widening each year and more and more initiatives are being considered to counteract this imbalance. This essay will look at the differences between girls' and boys' academic achievements and examination results, and at some of the reasons for the differences.
There has been a lot of research recently around the differences in attainment between girls and boys at school. A few decades ago, research focused on how to make education more equal for girls, as Knopp Bilen and Pollard [Eds] (1993) describe, "Men, specifically white men, scored higher than women on standardized tests, did better in mathematics and science courses, and generally were more likely than females to obtain advanced academic degrees (p92)." Alexander and Eckland (1974) also "showed that female status depressed education attainment" (cited in Wrigley 1992, p152). More recently, research shows a turnaround, where more girls than boys leave school with qualifications, more women have degrees and enter master's programmes, and the gap between gender-linked specialized subjects seems to be disappearing too (Wrigley 1992). This seems unavoidable according to Epstein, Elwood, Hey and Maw (1998) "...it should be emphasised that raising levels of pupil achievement does not necessarily entail reducing educational inequalities, in fact, standards can rise while the equality gaps widens" (p.73). So it seems that measures undertaken to improve opportunities for girls were extremely successful.
Figures used to gauge the effectiveness of education and to draw comparisons between gender attainment are usually based on standard 5 GCSE, at grade C or above, otherwise known as the GCSE Benchmark (Gorard, Rees, and Salisbury, 1999). There are also assessments throughout a child's educational life. "Academic achievement is the cornerstone of the educational enterprise. It is most often used as the basis for judging individual and systemic educational outcomes" (Knopp Bilen and Pollard 1993, p.90). It is important to point out that not all results are comparable in format or source, as pointed out by Gorard, et al., (1999). Some figures do not take into account proportions, so, for example, a 40% male pass rate, might not be a true reflection of the fact that maybe there was a higher female participation. Salisbury et al., (1999) warn that when evaluating quantitative research figures, "if that quantitative framework is misconceived, then much of the research work may have attempted to explain a pattern that does, in fact, not exist" (p.418). It is worthwhile considering these limitations when examining results and research figures.
The first type of assessments in a child's school life, the baseline assessments produce results that point to girls being more prepared for school life and "...better equipped than boys to deal with school-type activities..." (Salisbury, et al. 1999). However, when results are scrutinized, the only areas where noticeable differences exist are English, languages and humanities. Boys and girls perform similarly in Mathematics and sciences, a trend that continues right up to GCSE level. The government's own site "Gender and Achievement", which discusses the problems of boys' underachievement, lists results for the years 1997 to 2001, grouped according ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
The first type of assessments in a child's school life, the baseline assessments produce results that point to girls being more prepared for school life and "...better equipped than boys to deal with school-type activities..." (Salisbury, et al. 1999). However, when results are scrutinized, the only areas where noticeable differences exist are English, languages and humanities. Boys and girls perform similarly in Mathematics and sciences, a trend that continues right up to GCSE level. The government's own site "Gender and Achievement", which discusses the problems of boys' underachievement, lists results for the years 1997 to 2001, grouped according to Key Stage, up to GCSE. At Key stage 1, Level 2 and above, there are noticeable differences in writing performance only. At all other stages, including GCSE, the only area that shows any real difference is English. These figures are merely bar charts and are difficult to analyse or to compare with others, as they are not properly quantified. Nevertheless there are clear differences in results, albeit only in English. The Gorard et al, (1999) study also reveals that achievement gaps are noticeable in languages, humanities, and some design subjects, although the gap seems to increase only at higher levels of attainment.
Much evidence points to the fact that boys are not necessarily under-performing, but that girls are "... gaining more of the higher attainment levels ..." Salisbury et al. (1999, p.418). Results differ most at the top end of examination results, where more girls reach higher grades, whereas middle grades tend to be equally distributed between sexes. In fact, boys do not seem to be under-performing per se, more that they do not generally attain levels as high as girls do.
The greater results in languages in favour of girls seems to substantiate the view that boys find verbal/written expression harder than girls, as Johnson (1996) stated "The clearest evidence here relates to boys' lower levels of literacy and spoken skills..." (cited in Salisbury, et al., 1999, p407). This is also reflected in the way girls/boys react in examinations. Boys prefer the multiple-choice type questions, where they feel guided by the question, whereas girls prefer the kind of question that requires free-style writing (Salisbury et al., 1999).
Interestingly, the gender gap in English and humanities does not seem to continue when education is continued to A level. (Gorard, et al., 2001). However, there is still gender bias when it comes to choosing subjects for extended learning, and this could affect figures in as much as a student, whether male or female, would probably not choose a subject matter he/she could not achieve good results in. One should bear in mind that choices are also often limited in secondary education, depending on what is on offer at the school. Later, by the time choices are to be made for A levels, GCSE level results would limit choices available.
There are many reasons for the disparities, some of which are school-related, others are not. For example, it is clear that girls and boys react to different learning/teaching styles. Studies have shown that boys are "frequently to be found dominating the classroom environment and monopolizing teachers' time" (Warrington and Younger, 2000). Some even go so far as to say that "boys performance has been hampered by the feminised and even feminist influences of female teachers and the very nature of the English curriculum itself". (Martino and Meyenn 2002, p303). It is hardly surprising when such statements are made that there is panic over the poor performance of boys.
This view of feminised teaching methods has lead to a call for more single sex classes and more male role models in the form of teachers (Martino and Meyenn, 2002). Recent research has shown that single-sex education can indeed help raise attainment levels for those who might have been hampered by a co-educational facility (Warrington and Younger, 2001). Salisbury et al. (1999) point out, "... a common perception held by parents and daughters is that boys are lowering girls' achievements and damaging their educational experience (p413)." If that were the case, it would be logical to assume that some boys with their 'laddish' behaviour can have the same effect on other boys too. Whereas Warrington and Youngers' studies (2001) show that single sex education can be a contributory factor in high levels of attainment, Salisbury et al., (1999) show that when certain 1994 results are compared, girls from an all-girl school do not actually fare any better than those from mixed schools. It is not always clear in figures, whether private educational establishments have been counted and what proportion they take up, it is therefore difficult to judge whether there are any differences in attainment isolated in private establishments.
In conclusion, government officials and the media would have us believe that all boys are doing less well than girls are, which of course would be disastrous for the human race as a whole. Pictures are being painted of boys having so many hurdles in their way, from feminised teaching methods, lack of male role models, peer pressure, as well as influencing factors from home. Indeed, boys from low-income families tend to under-achieve more than others (Gorard, et al., 1999). Whilst these points represent important factors that contribute to determining performance, it is important to realise that, amidst the panic, not all boys under-perform and not in all subjects. There are clear differences in levels of attainment throughout school life for boys in language subjects, but in the other subjects, such as Maths and Science, no real differences between girls and boys. It has also been shown that these differences do not extend to A level subjects. We have seen a reversal of results from 30 years ago, where the focus was on increasing levels of attainment and participation of girls. Measures were undertaken to improve opportunities for girls, and now they are achieving better results than before, and in some case of English, better results than boys. If exams are indicative of overall performance, one might believe that girls are in fact 'doing better' than boys, but recent studies examined here show that the differences, although real, are not quite as alarming as portrayed.
References
Epstein, D., Elwood, J., Hey, V., Maw, J. (Eds) 1998, Failing Boys: issues in gender and achievement, Buckingham: Open University Press
Gorard, S., Rees, G., and Salisbury, J., (1999), Reappraising the Apparent Underachievement of Boys at School, Gender and Education, Vol 11, No 4, pp441-454
Gorard, S., Rees, G., Salisbury, J (2001), Investigating the Patterns of Differential
Attainment of Boys and Girls at School, British Educational Research Journal, Vol. 27, No. 2
Knopp Bilen, S, and Pollard, D. (Eds) (1993), Gender and Education, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Martino, W., Meyenn, B., 2002. War, guns and cool, tough things: interrogating single sex classes as a strategy for engaging boys in English". Cambridge Journal of Education, Vol 32, No. 3
Salisbury J., Rees G., Gorard S., (1999) Accounting for the differential attainment of boys and girls at school, School Leadership & Management, Vol., 19, No4, pp 403-426
Warrington , M., Younger, M., (2000) The other side of the gender gap, Gender and Education, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 493-508
Warrington , M., Younger, M., (2001) Single-sex Classes and Equal Opportunities for Girls
and Boys: perspectives through time from a mixed comprehensive school in England, Oxford Review of Education, Vol. 27, No. 3
Wrigley, J.(Ed), 1992, Education and Gender Equality, London: Falmer Press
www.standards.dfee.gov.uk/genderandachievement, downloaded 06.01.03
Word count: 1462 (excluding reference page)
January 2003
"Do Girls really do better than boys at school? How great are any differences, and how do they change with age and level of attainment? Illustrate your answer with reference to current debates and research findings."