Actually, Girls Lag Behind Boys In STEM Subjects

Actually, Girls Lag Behind Boys In STEM Subjects

By Jessica Kelmon

If you’ve come to worry endlessly about the fate of boys in school, well, you’re not alone.

According to recent tomes with titles like The Trouble with Boys (2008) and Why Boys Fail (2010), boys are falling precipitously behind girls in school. Research shows that boys earn lower grades than girls and significantly more girls than boys go to college. To explain these differences, experts point out that school reading isn't tailored to boys’ interests and that boys’ slower maturation rate gives girls an early academic advantage. With these facts circling like sharks, you may’ve felt your attention hyper focused on boys. But test scores reveal a gender gap — and in this case, it's girls who need to catch up.

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