Multiple studies have found that girls out-perform boys in school in every subject area.
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There’s no question that there are more girls in school than boys. A look around the classroom speaks for itself.
The stereotype that boys succeed in math and science over girls is long gone, even though this is an issue that has been overlooked for many years.
Studies have shown that girls are more successful and built for school due to the fact that they have to constantly compete with boys because it is assumed that boys are smarter.
A study from the American Psychological Association entitled, “Girls Make Higher Grades than Boys in All School Subjects, Analysis Finds,” stated, “Parents may assume boys are better at math and science so they might encourage girls to put more effort into their studies, which could lead to the slight advantage girls have in all courses. Another possibility is gender differences in learning styles.
Previous research has showed girls tend to study in order to understand the materials, whereas boys emphasize performance, which indicates a focus on the final grades.”
The factor that has come into play on why girls do well and boys do poorly is their upbringing and state of wealth. The environment an individual is placed in can affect how they perform in school.
This also brings forward the stereotype that every child who is wealthy and attends a private or competitive school, should automatically be successful and earn the highest grades.
“Girls surpass boys on reading and writing in almost every U.S. school district regardless of local wealth or racial makeup. In third grade, female students outperform boys by roughly half a grade level. By the end of 8th grade, girls are almost a full grade ahead,” according to the Graduate School of Education at Stanford and its study, “Boys and Girls do better in math, English.”
As boys and girls reach high school, boys’ weaknesses become more apparent. Boys are more affected by family issues than girls are, and that shows in their school performance. They are more likely to miss school or get suspended due to personal problems.
David Autor, a professor of economics at MIT and an author on the study, told the Washington Post, “This just adds to the overall panoply of evidence that disadvantageous childhood conditions are particularly pernicious for boys, leading to lower test scores, more behavior problems, lower rates of employment in early adulthood, and even higher rates of incarceration”.
Based on the studies and information given, girls are definitely more successful than boys and are expected to graduate high school and pursue college because they are built for it.
Boys, from a young age, are expected to do well at first, until they reach the age where adversity hits them and they begin to struggle because they’re concerned with real-world issues more than school.
Unfortunately, this has become the norm and has been for the past 10-plus years. Girls feel like it’s their duty to be competitive with boys because it’s expected for boys to do better, but in the end, research shows that boys aren’t prepared for school the way girls are.