The Washington Post – Emma Brown
“International math, science and reading exams show that across dozens of countries, 15-year-old boys are more likely to be low achievers than 15-year-old girls, especially in reading. But among the highest-performing students, girls trail boys, and girls have far less confidence in their ability to solve math problems…“Low-achieving boys appear to be trapped in a cycle of poor performance, low motivation, disengagement with school and lack of ambition, while high-achieving girls are somehow thwarted from using their mathematical skills in more specialised higher education and, ultimately, in their careers,” the report says…“These results strongly suggest that gender gaps in school performance are not determined by innate differences in ability,” the report says, calling on parents, teachers and policy makers to help identify and change social factors that contribute to the gender gaps.”(more)