Of course readers of whyboysfail.com already knew that. In fact, my informal survey of state tests shows girls moving ahead of boys. But the journal Science has stepped in with an official ruling: There’s no difference.

What the article fails to mention is that while girls are now the equal of boys in math, they are pushing farther ahead of them in literacy skills – comprehensive reading and writing. Those are the very skills needed to succeed in college, regardless of your major. And that explains why so many college campuses are closing in on the 60%-female mark.

From the AP article:

Schoolgirls’ math skills now measure up to boys’

By Libby Quaid
Associated Press
Published on: 07/25/08
Washington — Sixteen years after Barbie dolls declared, “Math class is tough!” girls are proving that when it comes to math they are just as tough as boys.

In the largest study of its kind, girls measured up to boys in every grade, from second through 11th. The research was released Thursday in the journal Science.

Parents and teachers persist in thinking boys are simply better at math, said Janet Hyde, the University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher who led the study. Girls who grow up believing it wind up avoiding harder math classes.

“It keeps girls and women out of a lot of careers, particularly high-prestige, lucrative careers in science and technology,” Hyde said.

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