Girls outperforming the boys in literacy skills

snoopyzanus · 2014-04-21T15:06:13+00:00

From an old post of mine:

The real reason behind boys’ reading underachievement

Quite simply, boys can read equally as well as girls do, and sometimes outperform girls, in classrooms where they are taught to read by certain methods. They perform just as well as girls regardless of their teacher’s sex, their school starting age, the kinds of reading tests they take, or any of the other biological and environmental factors that might be in play. Any teacher that uses these particular methods not only immediately (if inadvertently) eradicates sex differences, but also produces significantly better reading attainment among boys and girls than with the use of other methods. In light of the experimental research (see Table 2), many of us are convinced that the steady change in teaching methods over recent decades is the cause of the new gender divide in reading ability.

(For the interested, check out another article with graphs showing boys' achievements with synthetic phonics here.)

Unfortunately a lot of teachers oppose concentrating on this method, preferring to use "whole language" methods where children are supposed to "read" words by guessing what they might be from context, from pictures, from their initial letters, or by the overall shape of the word. For example:

...the NASUWT study reignites the debate on the government’s proposal that synthetic phonics is the best method to be used to teach pupils to read.

In the survey, 58 per cent of respondents agreed that the method has a key role to play in teaching and learning, but teachers also felt strongly that children need to benefit from a range of methods, including word recognition and a combination of cues such as context, initial letter sounds and/or illustrations, and that they should have access to books containing some words that they cannot yet decode using phonic cues.

However, schools minister Nick Gibb, has already spoken out against other systems, saying they have left children with poor literacy skills.

During a school visit in November, he said: “There is more to reading than phonics – but there is also a weight of evidence that systematic synthetic phonics, taught in the first years of a child’s education, gives children the key building blocks they need to understand words, underpins children’s attainment of a good standard of reading, and can inspire a lifetime love of reading.

Lonemango · 2014-04-21T01:17:38+00:00

It's okay for one sex to out perform another given the same opportunities. Sexual dimorphism in humans is real. It would not be surprising in the least if one sex is statistically better at literacy skills, or math skills or communication skills, what have you. The danger comes if we assume that one sex outperforming another means there is a bias against the under-performing sex.

jcea_ · 2014-04-21T05:31:00+00:00

This is far from surprising for two reasons.

In general men and women are better in different things one of the areas women excel in is communication which encompasses literacy.

The other reason is from studies I have seen dyslexia which is most often a hindrance to reading/writing is much more prevalent in males.

Title	Girls outperforming the boys in literacy skills
Author	AlphaWookie
Upvotes	7
Comments	6
Date	April 20, 2014 11:49 PM UTC (12 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/23jr5m/girls_outperforming_the_boys_in_literacy_skills/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/girls-outperforming-the-boys-in-literacy-skills.1001488 https://theredarchive.com/post/1001488

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