HEATHER MAC DONALD
Math Is Harder for Girls
. . . and also, it seems, for the New York Times.
The New York Times is determined to show that women are discriminated against in the sciences; too bad the facts say otherwise. A new study has “found that girls perform as well as boys on standardized math tests,” claims a July 25 article by Tamar Lewin—thus, the underrepresentation of women on science faculties must result from bias. Actually, the study, summarized in the July 25 issue of Science, shows something quite different: while boys’ and girls’ average scores are similar, boys outnumber girls among students in both the highest and the lowest score ranges. Either the Times is deliberately concealing the results of the study or its reporter cannot understand the most basic science reporting.
That pretty much sums up the article, but you can read the whole thing if you wish, there are a few funny lines, including one about the other end of the curve, with more boys as "math dunces."
Reading the news summary I knew there had to be a catch!
ReplyDeleteMy guess was that it meant boys scores had declined to match girls, but this explanation makes a lot more sense.
I was suspicious myself.
ReplyDeleteI had vague thoughts about the nature of the questions.
The only areas in the whole math/physics/engineering/comp sci realm that I learned quicker than my husband were FORTRAN and databases. He's especially quicker than me in spacial math.
He was shocked that databases made sense to me, he said, "but they're a bunch of circles."
I replied, "but I think in circles."
He said hmm, and had a look on his face like that explained a lot of things.
Later, we heard someone give an analogy that men had laser brains and women had radar brains, it made sense to us.
The Onion
ReplyDeleteEducation journalism is hopeless.
ReplyDelete