Boys Decade Out

English and Math. The two staple subjects of our society. Look at the SAT. Half of the questions are verbal and the other half are math. When measuring a student’s college acceptance worthiness, admission offices place a large focus on how well students perform in these two subjects. Statistically, girls outperform boys in English, while boys outperform girls in Math. Seems fair enough; however, a closer look tells a different story.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress provides statistics on female versus male performance in reading and math. By the time children reach the age of seventeen, girls outperform boys by 14 points in reading achievement. Conversely, at the same age, boys only lead girls by 3 points in math achievement. In fact, of the three age groups analyzed, girls consistently only fall behind boys by 3 points in math achievement. However, in reading achievement, the amount boys fall behind girls almost triples by the age of seventeen.

Not surprisingly, these numbers lead to concern about boys falling behind academically. A June 2006 article published by the Education Sector attempts to dispel any such concerns. According to the article, the real concern is not about boys in general falling behind, but instead about black and Hispanic boys falling behind. While it is true that both male and female white students outperform black students and Hispanic students, it should be noted that regardless of race, boys consistently fall behind girls in reading achievement. According to the article, the only boys that are in “crisis” are black and Hispanic ones. However, later on the author admits that as far as the boys’ crisis is concerned, “there is not sufficient evidence—or the right kind of evidence—available to draw firm conclusions.” One might wonder then how the author is able to reach the conclusion that boys in general are not in crisis, but black and Hispanic boys are. One should be wary though of trying to explain the reading gap between boys and girls for fear of the author labeling them as “ideological.”

The reason for this label is, according to the article, boys are not really falling behind but instead catching up with girls in reading achievement. The data reveals that the above statement is only a half-truth. Yes, boys at the youngest age group are catching up, but the gap between older boys and girls is either remaining stagnant or getting even worse. In 1971, 9-year-old boys trailed girls by 14 points, but today boys at that age, are only behind girls by 5 points. However, if one looks at the data provided for the 13-year-old age group, the amount boys trail girls only decreases by 1 point between 1971 and 2004. Further, looking at data from the 19-year-old age group, boys fall 2 points further behind girls in 2004 than they were in 1971.

The bottom line is none of this matters if by the time graduation rolls around, boys are so far behind girls in reading that they are unable to graduate. According to the Civic Report, girls have a 72 percent high-school graduation rate, whereas boys only have a 65 percent rate. When it comes down to it, the fact that boys graduate less than girls is a concern. If the tables were turned, there is no doubt society would be outraged, arguing girls are not being given the same opportunities as their male counterparts. Just look at Title IX. Why should this be any different for boys?

Throw into this mix the intriguing observation of Joseph Wise, the superintendent of the Duval County Public Schools in Florida. “Our literature and reading is more girl friendly” in public schools, Wise told the audience at a College Board press conference last month. Public school readings, Wise explained, tend to be “more narrative, less informational.”

Wise spoke on the panel that accompanied the Board’s release of this year’s SAT scores. He has also worked in school systems in Delaware, Maryland and North Carolina.

Laura Ventura, an intern at Accuracy in Academia last summer, attends law school at Indiana University.