Soon the House of Representatives will vote on an amendment to the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2005 (H.R.5006) that would appropriate $3 million for the Women's Educational Equity Act. The amendment by Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), and Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) will fund a program that is outdated: On nearly every indicator of academic success girls outperform boys. The gender gap in reading and writing achievement, Advanced Placement participation, honors course participation, high school and college graduation rates, and other indicators favors girls. Boys, however, are more likely to be in Special Education, to repeat a grade, to be suspended, or to be involved with crime, drugs, and alcohol.[1]

The Women's Educational Equity Act (WEEA) was enacted 30 years ago to promote "equity" in educational policies, programs, activities, and initiatives. It was based on the premise that "teaching and learning practices in the United States are frequently inequitable as such practices relate to women and girls."[2]

The problem that WEEA was created to address, however, no longer exists. In 2000, the U.S. Department of Education released a congressionally mandated study, Trends in Educational Equity of Girls and Women. On the basis of an analysis of 44 indicators -- including academic achievement and behavioral outcomes -- researchers concluded that "By most of these measures, females are doing at least as well as males."[3] A year later, the Educational Testing Service came to a similar conclusion in its report Differences in the Gender Gap:

Females have made dramatic progress in educational attainment, across all racial/ethnic groups, pulling even with (and in some cases, surpassing) males.... There is neither a pattern of across-the-board male advantage nor a pattern of across-the-board female advantage....[4]

As a number of studies have demonstrated, teaching and learning practices in the United States are not inequitable in their effect on women and girls. Girls do well academically. They are more successful in language courses, are more involved in school activities, have higher rates of graduation at both high school and college levels, and are less likely to participate in high-risk behavior. In fact, if anything, recent studies should raise concerns about boys. Specifically, the research indicates that

• Girls outscore boys in reading. On the 2003 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading test, girls outperformed boys on average scores in 4^th and 8^th grade by 7 and 11 points respectively.[5]
• Girls outscore boys in writing. On the 2002 NAEP writing assessment, girls had higher average scores than boys at all three grade levels tested. The gap grew from a 17-point difference in the 4^th grade to a 25-point difference in the 12^th grade.[6]
• Girls outscore boys in civics and the arts. On the 1998 NAEP civics assessment, girls matched boys' scores on the 4^th grade test and outscored boys in the 8^th and 12^th grades.[7] Girls outperformed boys on the 1997 NAEP Arts Assessment in every category (music, theater, and visual arts). Differences were greatest in the music responding test, where girls scored, on average, 20 points higher than boys.[8]
• Girls hold their own in math and science. There is little difference between boys' and girls' scores on the 2003 NAEP math assessment in 4^th or 8^th grade (three and one point differences, respectively).[9] On the 2000 science assessment, the six-point gap on the 4^th grade science test falls to three points by the 12^th grade.
• Girls are more likely to participate in school activities. Girls outnumber boys with regard to membership in honor societies, school newspaper staff, debate clubs, and student government.[10] More girls than boys participate in Advanced Placement courses.[11] Girls are also more likely to participate in community service.[12]
  
• Girls are more likely than boys to graduate from high school and college.[13] Girls are more likely to enroll in college right after high school and to complete a bachelor's degree within five years.[14]
• Girls report high self-esteem and school enjoyment. The 1997 Metropolitan Life survey of gender and education found that, "Contrary to the commonly held view...girls appear to have an advantage over boys in terms of their future plans, teachers' expectations, everyday experiences at school and interactions in the classroom."[15] A University of Michigan study echoes these findings: More boys than girls reported that they did not like school, thought their courses were "dull," and seldom or never considered schoolwork meaningful or important.[16]
• Boys are twice as likely to be enrolled in special education programs. Boys are four times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with disabilities such as dyslexia, autism, and stuttering.[17]
• Boys are more likely to experience academic and behavioral problems. Boys are more likely to repeat a grade.[18] Boys are more likely to be suspended or to be involved with crime, drugs, and alcohol.[19] Boys are more likely than girls to report violent victimization at school.[20]

Conclusion

On most indicators of academic achievement and student behavior, girls perform as well as or better than boys. According to the Educational Testing Service, "[The evidence] supports neither the view that the educational establishment systematically discriminates against females, nor the view that the system is conspiring to wage a war against boys."[21] Without the gender inequity that served as the rationale for the gender programs, there is no justification for funding the Women's Educational Equity Act.

Krista Kafer is Senior Policy Analyst for Education at The Heritage Foundation.