Boys are more likely than girls to rank at both the top and the bottom of the grade scale, supporting greater variability of excellence among boys¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 1912 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Boys are more likely to rank at the top of the grade scale and also more likely to rank at the bottom. → L. E. Frailey and C. M. Crane 1912

Evidence¶

L. E. Frailey and C. M. Crane 1912¶

L. E. Frailey and C. M. Crane. (1912). Correlation of Excellence in Different School Subjects Based on a Study of School Grades. The Journal of Educational Psychology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journal_of_Educational_Psychology

q2 · i? · associational · r1

Analysis of the sex of pupils ranked first, second and third, and last three, in each of the six subjects. Weighting ranks (first worth five points, second three, third one), boys scored 32 points positive and 33 negative versus girls' 22 and 21, which the authors say bears out the theory of greater male variability.

"as a result of Problem IV it seems clear that (1) boys are more likely to rank at the top of the grade scale, and (2) that they are also more likely to rank at the bottom of the grade scale. In short the generally accepted theory that the chances for either exceptional ability or exceptional dullness are greater among boys than among girls is borne out by our group."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Gender — predictor: outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause

Related Claims¶

• The reading sex difference favoring girls grew over the decade and was driven by very poor performance of boys at the low end — related
• In this group the average girl's grades equal or exceed the average boy's in all six subjects, with the largest advantage in Latin — reports the opposite
• The mathematics sex difference is practically non-existent among low performers and largest among high performers, where boys outnumber girls up to 2.7:1 above the 99th percentile — related