In fact, there were twice as many girls scoring in the proficient and advanced category than boys. Conversely, twice as many boys scored below the basic level in all three grades. By the twelfth grade, the average score for girls was 19 points higher. 4 Girls hold their own in math and science. The 1999 NAEP long-term trend math assessment shows that there is no statistically significant difference between scores for girls and boys on all three tests.
Gender gaps favoring girls in history and biology are much higher.
Boys are twice as likely to be enrolled in special education programs. Boys are more likely than girls to be diagnosed with disabilities such as dyslexia, autism, stuttering, and language disorders by a factor of three or four to one. Boys are less likely to graduate from high school than girls. They are also less likely to graduate from college with an Associate, Bachelors, or Masters degree. The objective of education reform should be improvement in academic performance for America's children, regardless of race, gender, or national background.