Gender Gap for the Gifted

Carol’s Summary:

In many schools around New York City, findings show that girls now outnumber boys in schools and programs for gifted children. At schools such as the Brooklyn School of Inquiry, TAG Young Scholars, and New Explorations of Science and Technology and Math, there is a noticeable ratio of male to female students. Although the entire school system is 51 percent male, girls comprise 56 percent of the district’s gifted students.

This disparity is also evident nationwide, as well in graduation and college enrollment rates, where the gap between girls and boys has grown steadily for decades. Experts’ theories state that many forms of gifted as well as standardized testing tend to favor girls, particularly in the area of verbal skills. Another theory is that traditional classroom management skills may favor girls over boys. Boys tend benefit from classes that are highly collaborative, bodily-kinesthetic and challenging.

Experts and researchers are finding that one of the main reasons for the gender gap amongst gifted students is that classrooms focus more on testing and linguistics than on spatial subjects and mathematics, in which boys tend to show stronger understanding. It is clear that there is a relationship between both content and methods of delivery in how both genders succeed.

LifeBound’s books and training emphasize the importance of academic preparation that can be applied to the needs and strengths of all students. One of LifeBound’s goals is to help close the achievement gaps amongst all types of students so that all students have an equal ability and opportunity to succeed. Visit www.lifebound.com or email contact@lifebound.com to learn more about LifeBound’s goals, books and programs.

Article:

Gender Gap for the Gifted in City Schools

By SHARON OTTERMAN

Published: May 31, 2010

When the kindergartners at the Brooklyn School of Inquiry, one of New York City’s schools for gifted students, form neat boy-girl rows for the start of recess, the lines of girls reach well beyond the lines of boys.

To read the full article: www.nytimes.com

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Putting the “Boy Crisis” in Context


Carol’s Summary:

 The Center on Education Policy released a report in March, addressing the fact that on average, boys in all grade levels have lower reading test scores than girls do. The data from the independent, Washington D.C. based organization has been accompanied by another report, which was released by the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

It has also been found that girls not only have been scoring higher in reading than boys, but that girls also tend to fare better academically overall. The exception is mathematics, which has generated varied results amongst boys and girls. On average, girls also have higher grade-point averages than boys in their grade level, and are likelier to graduate high school and go to college.

Although gender gaps in education have existed for decades, it is now becoming a global problem. In 2006, a study was released with data from fourth grade reading tests in 40 countries; the results showed that girls scored higher than boys in every area where data was collected properly.

Education experts and schools around the nation are now coming up with ideas for “boy friendly” teaching, which would engage boys’ interests in a way so that they would be likelier to succeed, particularly in literacy. There are many kinds of achievement gaps that need to be reduced and eventually closed, from gender to economic background and ethnicity.

There are as many different teaching styles as there are learning styles, and every child is different.  LifeBound books and curriculum provide teachers with different strategies and learning activities that engage different kinds of students. It is important that all students are on a level playing field, so that all children have an equal opportunity to succeed in school and in the real world. To learn more about LifeBound’s books, curriculum and other materials, visit www.lifebound.com or e-mail contact@lifebound.com.

Article:

Putting the “Boy Crisis” in Context

Finding solutions to boys’ reading problems may require looking beyond gender

By MICHAEL SADOWSKI

Putting the “Boy Crisis” in Context, continued

 

Putting the “Boy Crisis” in Context: Finding solutions to boys’ reading problems may require looking beyond gender

Putting the “Boy Crisis” in Context

“The Boys Have Fallen Behind.” “Girls Lead the Nation in Reading Scores.” “Are Teachers Failing Our Sons?” Earlier this year, newspapers across the country ran these and other headlines in response to a March report by the independent Center on Education Policy (CEP) in Washington, D.C. The report, which outlined results on state accountability tests, raised alarm by noting that the percentage of boys scoring “proficient” or higher in reading was below that of girls at all grade levels tested and in every state for which sufficient data were available.

To read more: Harvard Education Letter

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Summer school is a great tool, if only more students would use it

Carol’s Summary:

Summer school has long been though of as a last chance option for children who failed classes during the traditional school year. However, some groups now argue that summer school programs can be of great help to all children, even those who do well in school.

Much of what is learned during the school year is forgotten during summer vacation, which contributes to low achievement, particularly in low-income schools. Now, Washington D.C. public schools are aiming to change this as well as the long-lasting stigma that has been attached to attending summer school. These programs aim to provide a well-rounded learning experience for students, which would include hands-on learning and field trips.

It is important for students to have a well-rounded, year-round focus on education. Summer school should no longer be thought of as a punishment, but rather as an enrichment experience. Students who remain academically focused all year long are likelier to be higher achievers overall.

LifeBound’s books address situations that students deal with whether they are in school or out of school, because our books connect the academic experience with those in everyday life. Visit www.lifebound.com or e-mail contact@lifebound.com for more information on how our books reach out to students with real life strategies and tools for success.

Article:

Summer school is a great tool, if only more students would use it
By Jay Mathews
Monday, June 28, 2010

This Wednesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Brent Elementary School at 301 North Carolina Ave. SE, the D.C. public schools will hold a chancellor’s forum on how to add useful learning to your child’s summer. Several groups, such as the D.C. Public Library, the University of the District of Columbia Science and Engineering Center, and even Madame Tussaud’s, will have booths about their summer programs.

But the District, like other urban districts, will have a summer school that includes only about a fifth of its students. Many people laugh that off: Who in their right mind wants to go to summer school? Give the poor kids a break.

That old-fashioned attitude turns out to be educationally bankrupt. Summer learning loss has been shown to be a likely cause of low achievement in cities such as Washington. Karl L. Alexander of Johns Hopkins University found that by ninth grade, accumulated learning loss for low-income children accounted for two-thirds of the achievement gap between them and higher-income children who had summer learning opportunities, such as trips to the library and museums.

To read more visit www.washingtonpost.com

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Ed. Dept. Opposes Cutting Race to Top to Fund Education Jobs

Carol’s Summary:
On Tuesday, a proposal was released that would take funding from Race to the Top in order to fund jobs in education; however, the U.S. Department of Education opposes the proposal, because it would cause budget cuts to other education reform programs, including an estimated $500 million would be cut from Race to the Top, and another $200 million would be cut from the Teacher Initiative Fund.

Race to the Top provides funding to states that are on track towards implementing more charter schools and improving low-income and low-performing schools. The Teacher Initiative Fund provides pay-for-performance programs. Pay-for-performance programs provide increased pay for schools and teachers that actively improve their students’ academic performance.

Although the U.S. Dept. of Education does not want other programs to be cut in order to provide money for keeping existing teachers’ jobs, the recent and widespread teacher layoffs nationwide have caused some representatives and organizations to feel that the proposed funding is important to education reform overall.

Education reform, including Race to the Top funding, is a fundamental part of our nation’s future. It will have a major impact on our economy and the overall quality of life for our nation’s citizens. While the debate persists about how education reform funding should be spent, it is vital that schools continue to provide the best education for children before, during, and after changes in our education system take place.

LifeBound provides schools nationwide with books and curriculum that focus on connecting academics to real-life situations, so that teachers can educate students in a way that is relevant to their lives both in and outside of the classroom. To learn more about LifeBound’s materials, visit www.lifebound.com or e-mail contact@lifebound.com.

Article:
Ed. Dept. Opposes Cutting Race to Top to Fund Edujobs
By Alyson Klein
The U.S. Department of Education is pushing back against a congressional plan to trim key priorities of the Obama administration—including the Race to the Top Fund and money for pay-for-performance programs and charter schools—to help cover the cost of a $10 billion effort to save education jobs.
The proposal, unveiled late Tuesday by Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, would skim $500 million from Race to the Top, the administration’s $4.35 billion signature education reform initiative, which was created last year under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

To read the full article: www.edweek.org

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