According to a recent national study by the Center on Education Policy, standardized test scores in most states show that girls have caught up with boys in math, but boys are still behind girls in reading.

“I think this shows that girls are proving themselves to be hard workers, while boys are being lazy even though they have the ability to catch up,” said Lily Henry, 10.

For decades, educators have been worried that girls do not get enough attention in their math classes. Polls found that many girls doubted their ability to understand mathematics and their scores were consistently lower than that of boys.

“I don’t think I would have guessed that. In my math class, the girls seem to understand more than the boys,” said Katherine Brown, 10.

However, these results prove otherwise. The study looks at test scores as far back as 2002, and shows that the gap in passage rates in math closed in recent years and is statistically insignificant.

Yet, in elementary, middle schools and high schools, a gap remains between boys and girls in reading.

Although the average gap is not consistent in all states and is smaller in states such as Ohio, it still remains statistically significant.

Under No Child Left Behind, every state is required to test students in math and reading, disclose those scores in general, break them down by low-income status, race, ethnicity and disability status.

Although states break it down by gender, there are no incentives in the law to reduce or eliminate gender-based achievement gaps.

While there are no plans to change the current program, small adjustments are being considered, such as adding more emphasis to reading and writing curriculum in elementary schools.

“Despite the fact that these are professional studies, I still don’t believe it,” said Erik Johnson, 11. – Posted: Thu, Apr 15 2010 3:23:48 PM EST by Emma Oh