We’ve heard a lot about the increase in the state’s four-year graduation rate. But where is the concern about the fact that North Carolina girls are graduating at a much higher rate than boys? JLF’s Terry Stoops posted the data:
All Students: 82.5
Male: 78.6
Female: 86.6
Late last year, Kristen Blair wrote for Carolina Journal about the difference in achievement between boys and girls. The new graduation data makes her piece about SAT scores worth a second read.
Scores defied conventional stereotypes: Boys outperformed girls not just in math, but in reading as well. Boys led by a little (five points) in reading, and a lot (33 points) in math. This year’s reading performance was no statistical fluke; boys have outscored girls in both reading and math for the past 40 years.
Such stable test-taking supremacy will cause many to conclude that all is well in boy world: that boys rule the honor roll, the Advanced Placement classroom, and the college acceptance letter. But they don’t, not by a long shot. Aside from their SAT prowess, boys trail girls on most in-school academic measures.
Consider what data collected by the College Board, publisher of the SAT, revealed about college-bound seniors. Girls were much more likely than boys to earn an A+, A, or A- grade point average; boys were overrepresented among students earning Cs, Ds, and Fs. Compared to boys, girls pursued more AP/Honors courses in English, history, science, foreign language, and even mathematics.
Top honors are going overwhelmingly to girls: 70 percent of high school valedictorians now are female, according to CBS News. And girls comprised 57 percent of 2010 college enrollments, federal data show; this gender imbalance is projected to increase.
So where’s the outrage?
