Investigating the Patterns of Differential Attainment of Boys and Girls at School

Abstract

Recent research on the differential attainment of boys and girls at school has produced ndings in signi cant contrast to the standard account on which most previous explanations of the differences between boys and girls were based. Put simply, much previous research may have been attempting to explain differences whose nature was incompletely understood. The result, if these new ndings are accepted, is that further research is now necessary to discover the potential socio-economic, classroom and individual determinants of these gender gaps. In addition, it is important before such research takes place that the nature of the actual differences between the 'performance' of boys and girls is more clearly understood. This article is intended to be a part of that advance. It details differential attainment by gender for all students in Wales over 6 years and at every level of assessment from Key Stage 1 to A level. There are few signi cant gender differences in mathematics and the sciences (i.e. the majority of the core subjects). For all other subjects, there are no signi cant gender differences at the lowest level of any assessment. Otherwise, the gap in attainment between boys and girls rises with every grade or level in an assessment, leading to the conclusion that the problem, if indeed it is a problem, is one mainly facing mid-to high-attainers. Proportionately more girls are attaining high grades and more boys are attaining middle grades than might be expected. Trends over time reveal no great change in this picture at the subject level over 6 years, but in terms of aggregate scores such as government benchmarks, the gap between boys and girls is decreasing.

Gender and Student Achievement in English Schools

“…4 There are several papers in the economic literature, most of which deal with gender differences in post-compulsory educational outcomes. 5 As noted by Gorard et al (2001), few studies deal with the evolution of the gender gap over time.…”

“…5 In the UK, examples are McNabb et al (2002) and Smith and Naylor (2001). Burgess et al (2004) and Gorard et al (2001) consider gender differences in educational achievement at school in England and Wales respectively. See Jacob (2002) and Charles and Luoh (2003) there are tests in reading and maths at a similar age (10 or 11).…”

Mathematical stories: why do more boys than girls choose to study mathematics at AS‐level in England?

“…There are few remaining differences between the attainment of males and females in either GCSE-level, AS-level, or A-level mathematics (taken at ages 16+, 17+ and 18+, respectively) (Gorard et al, 2001;The Guardian, 2002a, 2002b, 2003a, 2003b. Although boys remain more likely to secure the top grades, the differences are small and getting smaller.…”

Ansiedade e satisfação com a vida. Estudo das relações numa amostra de estudantes portugueses

“…O desfasamento entre rapazes e raparigas nos resultados escolares é significativo e um problema crescente (Gorard, Rees, & Salisbury, 2001). Os autores consideram que as raparigas obtêm melhores resultados no geral, situação que se torna ainda mais evidente quanto maior o grau de escolaridade.…”