The achievement (or lack thereof) of boys in schools has become a subject of much discussion in recent years as both politicians and the media proclaim a crisis in masculinity. The media raised public concern, touting headlines such as: Boys Behaving Badly, The Trouble With Boys (Sydney Morning Herald, 17/7/00),Why boys think school is a dead loss (The Age, 11/6/01), Education is Failing Boys (Courier Mail, 8/1/99) and Making schools boy-friendly. In recent years both the Labor and Liberal parties have policies to support the "underachieving boys" at school. Less popular with the public, but equally vehement, are those that argue that girls continue to fall behind boys in mathematics. They argue that girls are still being underrepresented in the fields of science, mathematics and information technology.
This website intends to examine these issues in the field of assessment; in particular, in the assessment of final year schooling. The questions that will be examined include:
- Comparative Performance: Is either gender lagging behind in final year assessment of mathematics?
- GAT and the Self Fulfilling Prophecy : Are differences in GAT performance authentic or part of a society-induced self-fulfilling prophecy?
- Examinations and Coursework : Which gender performs better under Examination situations? Is there enough difference to encourage change?
- Conclusion: What can we surmise from the information gathered thus far? What alternatives are there?