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Boys Are In Trouble
Accuracy in Academia's campusreportonline.net ^ | June 4, 2007 | Wendy Cook

Posted on 06/11/2007 8:38:37 AM PDT by LUMary

Boys Are In Trouble by: Wendy Cook, June 04, 2007

Since the 33-year-old Women’s Educational Equity Act’s inception, the U. S. Congress has appropriated around $10 million annually for research, curricula development and teaching strategies to promote “gender equity,” according to information from the U.S. Department of Education. But what about the boys, have they been left behind by our nation’s schools?

“Boys are in trouble,” said Krista Kafer, visiting fellow at the Independent Women’s Forum. “The facts are quite clear; boys trail girls in most indicators of academic excellence such as, school engagement, achievement scores, and graduation rates at secondary and postsecondary levels.” Kafer presented these facts in her latest IWF position paper, Taking the Boy Crisis in Education Seriously: How School Choice Can Boost Achievement Among Boys and Girls.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, shows an overwhelming amount of data that supports Kafer’s theory. Take a look:

* A 2005 NAEP study revealed that a third of 12th grade boys cannot read a newspaper and understand what they are reading.

* The NAEP “Long-Term Trend Test” (started in 1971 and has remained unchanged to better track academic trends over time) showed that at age 17 boys’ reading achievement was fourteen points lower than girls’ and in fact is lower than it was in 1971.

* The same test also shows that scores for the 12th grade reveal that in math, girls have improved while boys have slipped. In reading, girls have improved a little while boys have fallen behind even more.

Other research institutions also report the same conclusions:

* The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research found that girls graduate high school at higher rates than boys, with the disparity highest among minority students. There is an 11% difference between African-American girls and boys.

* Boys account for roughly two-thirds of the students receiving special education services, according to the National Association of Directors of Special Education Incorporated.

“Despite the glaring inequities, the tired myth of the shortchanged girl remains strong enough to seize another $2.9 million from taxpayers last year for an outdated federal program,” said Kafer. “Even more unfortunate is how the myth of inequity is wielded to oppose real reforms that help both boys and girls,”

She also suggests the differences in educational performance may be the result of innate differences that can ultimately be overcome. Scientists have discovered small differences in the way men and women’s brains operate. Men have an advantage in spatial-rotational cognition, explaining why men often do better in math and science. Women have an advantage in verbal ability, which allows more women then men to excel in reading and writing.

“Physiology alone does not explain the disparity in academic achievement… how students are taught and the degree of student engagement matters,” said Kafer. This explains her enthusiastic support for school choice, “No one school can serve every student equally well. School choice allows parents to find the right school for their children, and encourages greater innovation within the educational sector. With school choice, schools must compete to attract students… where competition exists, schools have embraced different curricula and philosophies designed to appeal to the families’ needs and desires.”

It looks as though help is on the way; many states have already taken the initiative to start school-choice programs. According to Heritage Foundation data, in Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota, parents may take a tax credit or deduction for private-school expenses. Arizona, Florida and Utah allow disabled students to attend private schools of their choice. Utah also passed legislation allowing funds (based on income) to be given to any parent who chooses private schools. This just scratches the surface; at least 5 other states and the District of Columbia have some sort of school choice programs available.

Kafer says that despite all the data and research that shows how bad boys are struggling, politicians and special interest groups still seem to pay it no mind. She says there must be public recognition that the boys, not girls, are falling behind. It is not about helping just one gender, but helping every student reach their full potential.

With charter schools, tax incentives, scholarships and giving the parents the right to choose, maybe this will be possible.

If you would like to comment on this article, please e-mail mal.kline@academia.org


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government
KEYWORDS: atriskstudents; boys; malestudents; naep
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1 posted on 06/11/2007 8:38:39 AM PDT by LUMary
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To: LUMary

One reason for the observed decline in boys’ performance is government-mandated drugging of boys with Ritalin, Adderall and antidepressants.


2 posted on 06/11/2007 8:43:22 AM PDT by CholeraJoe ("You just killed a helicopter with a car!" "I know. I was out of bullets.")
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To: CholeraJoe

I guess you’re psyched about Die Hard 4, Joe.


3 posted on 06/11/2007 8:44:13 AM PDT by wastedyears (Check my profile for links to anti-illegal immigration T-shirts.)
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To: LUMary
Scientists have discovered small differences in the way men and women’s brains operate.

Tell it to the brilliant ones at Harvard.

4 posted on 06/11/2007 8:44:29 AM PDT by rhombus
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To: LUMary

But men win in wages. So let’s just call it even. :-D


5 posted on 06/11/2007 8:44:45 AM PDT by bolobaby
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To: LUMary

Boy bump!


6 posted on 06/11/2007 8:45:18 AM PDT by ßuddaßudd (7 days - 7 ways Guero >>> with a floating, shifting, ever changing persona....)
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To: wastedyears

Yippee kay ay.


7 posted on 06/11/2007 8:45:55 AM PDT by CholeraJoe ("You just killed a helicopter with a car!" "I know. I was out of bullets.")
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To: CholeraJoe

Indeed =D


8 posted on 06/11/2007 8:47:50 AM PDT by wastedyears (Check my profile for links to anti-illegal immigration T-shirts.)
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To: LUMary

Hate to say it but being a white American male in todays society is getting tougher all the time.


9 posted on 06/11/2007 8:52:26 AM PDT by sgtbono2002 (I'm gonna vote for Fred. John Bolton for VP.)
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To: LUMary

“...boys trail girls in most indicators of academic excellence...”

Really messes up their ‘pay’ inequality b.s.....


10 posted on 06/11/2007 8:54:35 AM PDT by dakine
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To: LUMary

yeah.


11 posted on 06/11/2007 8:56:32 AM PDT by Tzimisce (How Would Mohammed Vote? Hillary for President! www.dndorks.com)
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To: CholeraJoe

May as well just say being a boy is by itself a Learning Disability and behaving like one is a Mental Disorder treatable with drugs.


12 posted on 06/11/2007 8:56:48 AM PDT by epluribus_2
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To: LUMary
Schools don't talk in a language guys understand. It's all about social bonding, awards that signify nothing, and bookwork that encourages conformity and rote memorization as opposed to real problem solving and things requiring the use of extensive thought. Doesn't help that the subjects guys usually excel in more than girls(math, physics, etc.) are dumbed down incredibly.

Goes without saying more chaos at home with fewer fathers around to kick the kids around a little(metaphorically speaking) when they're slacking isn't helping either.
13 posted on 06/11/2007 8:57:55 AM PDT by DarkSavant
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To: LUMary
Boys have been gelded. That's the problem. The social engineers have taken away dodgeball, for God's sake. Boys have been told that aggression is bad, and that they are evil for feeling that way. The natural-born testosterone that drives them, that has made boys men and the protectors of the weak for a thousand generations has been snickered at by the Feminazis' and Liberal teachers too often, and you get a generation of boys who aren't equipped to become men. The aggression that would be used competing on the playground goes inward, and either shows up in computer games (where the Liberal elite again clicks its tongue) or bubbles out in Columbine and thinks like that.

You want to see boys excel? Tell them it is OK to be boys.

14 posted on 06/11/2007 8:59:53 AM PDT by 50sDad (Angels on asteroids are abducting crop circles!)
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To: CholeraJoe
They repress every trait a boy has ... no desire to throw a rock just to see if it will hit anything ... no desire to stomp in a puddle of rain water to see how far the splash will go ... no desire to jamb a stick in an ant bed to watch the critters run ...

This is how we learn ... if the first rock does not break the window ... we find another and throw it harder ... Physics!

15 posted on 06/11/2007 9:01:09 AM PDT by Red_Devil 232 (VietVet - USMC All Ready On The Right? All Ready On The Left? All Ready On The Firing Line!)
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To: LUMary

Soom wimmen will reproduce asexually like sharks and all people will will be clones.


16 posted on 06/11/2007 9:01:38 AM PDT by RightWhale (Repeal the Treaty)
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To: LUMary

“Scientists have discovered small differences in the way men and women’s brains operate”

Scientists discover sky is blue. World is round. Oceans have water. Plants need water.


17 posted on 06/11/2007 9:02:43 AM PDT by rjp2005 (Lord have mercy on us)
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To: dakine
“...boys trail girls in most indicators of academic excellence...”

And when they dont trail the girls, political correctness limits their ability to receive scholarships or other forms of recognition unless they fall into a designated victim group.

18 posted on 06/11/2007 9:03:10 AM PDT by freespirited
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To: LUMary

Sit down with a bunch of 5-7 year old boys and girls. The girls will start asking you all sorts of personal questions, and the boys will throw a ball at you.


19 posted on 06/11/2007 9:06:18 AM PDT by rjp2005 (Lord have mercy on us)
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To: LUMary

For years I have been saying that boys are falling behind girls.

A few weeks ago I was jumped on here for saying exactly that.

The simple fact is that it is OBVIOUS that boys and young men are falling behind in schools.


20 posted on 06/11/2007 9:11:08 AM PDT by vladimir998 (Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. St. Jerome)
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