Girls do better with language and situational logic. An IQ test intended for both sexes will have sections which play to each of the different skills, to avoid being easier for the one sex than the other. Chris Woodhead, the government's former chief inspector of schools, recognizes the change. Professor Alan Smithers, of Liverpool University's Centre for Education and Employment Research, takes a broader view. They present less of a challenge, and are more easily coped with by conscientious and consistent application.
Girls apply themselves more.
Twice as many people are now expected to pass through university as were once expected to pass the eleven-plus. Professor Smithers also thinks the changes in assessment are significant. He points out that what used to be decided by terminal examination is often now determined in part by modules and continuous assessment, both of which favour the more systematic approach taken by girls rather than the high risk strategy which appeals more to boys. Even the method of marking has changed. Claire Fox, Director of the Institute of Ideas and a former teacher herself, says that markers formerly used their professional expertise on a loose set of criteria to see which grade a script merited, or whether it should fail.