SUMMARY—Amid ongoing public speculation about the reasons for sex differences in careers in science and mathematics, we present a consensus statement that is based on the best available scientific evidence. Sex differences in science and math achievement and ability are smaller for the mid-range of the abilities distribution than they are for those with the highest levels of achievement and ability. Males are more variable on most measures of quantitative and visuospatial ability, which necessarily results in more males at both high- and low-ability extremes; the reasons why males are often more variable remain elusive. Successful careers in math and science require many types of cognitive abilities. Females tend to excel in verbal abilities, with large differences between females andmalesfound whenassessmentsincludewriting samples. High-level achievement in science and math requires the ability to communicate effectively and comprehend abstract ideas, so the female advantage in writing should be helpful in all academic domains. Males outperform females on most measures of visuospatial abilities, which have been implicated as contributing to sex differences on standardized examsin mathematics and science. An evolutionary account of sex differences in mathematics and science supports the conclusion that, although sex differences in math and science performance have not directly evolved, they could be indirectly related to differences in interests and specific brain and cognitive systems. We review the brain basis for sex differences in science and mathematics, describe consistent effects, and identify numerous possible correlates. Experience alters brain structures and functioning, so causal statements about brain differences and success in math and science are circular. A wide range of sociocultural forces contribute to sex differences in mathematics and science achievement and ability—including the effects of family,neighborhood,peer,andschoolinfluences;training and experience; and cultural practices. We conclude that early experience, biological factors, educational policy, and cultural context affect the number of women and men who pursue advanced study in science and math and that these effects add and interact in complex ways. There are no single or simple answers to the complex questions about sex differences in science and mathematics.

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The Science of Sex Differences in Science and Mathematics

Today, boys generally underperform relative to girls in schools throughout the industrialized world. Building on theories about gender identity and reports from prior ethnographic classroom observa...

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School Context and the Gender Gap in Educational Achievement

We investigated the effects of teacher human and social capital on growth in student performance in a sample of 1,013 teachers organized into 239 grade teams. We found that teacher human capital th...

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Applying Organizational Research to Public School Reform: The Effects of Teacher Human and Social Capital on Student Performance

http://jonell_strough.psychology.wvu.edu/r/download/77026

Sex segregation in friendships and normative contexts across the life span

the past 150 years, educational systems have expanded and become integrally linked with economic, political, and social status in modern nation-states (see Kamens, Meyer, & Benavot, 1996). As the stakes for education have risen, so has the call for more and improved use of scientific evidence as a basis for educational policymaking (Luke, 2003; Slavin, 2002). The rise in the use of scientific evidence for educational policymaking rests on two common beliefs: One is the belief that school knowledge is abstract and universal, and the other is the belief that empirical evidence is an efficient indicator of knowledge and learning. As a result, there are serious educational policymaking consequences for individuals and schools tied to evidence (Olson, 2006). Evidence from averaged scores on international assessments of math and science achievement in particular have become important indicators of national political and economic strength, but there are many different kinds of evidence to consider (LeTendre, Baker, Akiba, & Wiseman, 2001; Wiseman & Baker, 2005). For example, high-stakes consequences resulting from averaged academic achievement scores exist for students and schools in the United States but even more so in other countries, such as Japan (LeTendre, 1999; E. Smith, 2005). However, how and why evidence is used for educational policymaking both in the United States and around the world are the larger questions this chapter addresses. To investigate the uses of evidence for educational policymaking, this volume and this chapter ask two fundamental orienting questions: Why use evidence in educational policymaking? And why is evidence-based educational policymaking a global phenomenon? The answer to the first orienting question serves as a foundation for introducing relevant macrotheoretical perspectives and exploring the motivations and agendas that drive educational policy and decision making. The answer to the

The Uses of Evidence for Educational Policymaking: Global Contexts and International Trends:

In this timely book, Rosemary Salomone offers a reasoned educational and legal argument supporting single-sex education as an alternative to coeducation, particularly in the case of disadvantaged minority students. "A carefully organized, often lively ...compendium of everything that matters in the debate: how boys and girls do in classes and on tests, their differing learning styles, and the legal tussles."--Timothy A. Hacsi, New York Times "Smart, objective, evenhanded. Must reading in this important debate."--Susan Estrich, University of Southern California Law School "Everyone concerned about inequalities in our schools and our society should want to read it."--Michael Duffy, Times Educational Supplement (U.K.) "If you have time for only one book and you really want to be informed about single-sex education, then make it Same, Different, Equal."--John Borst, Education Today "The single best book I have read about single-sex education. A must-read for every educator who is concerned about the different outcomes for boys and girls in school."--Michael Thompson, Ph.D, coauthor of Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys

Same, Different, Equal: Rethinking Single-Sex Schooling

Single-Sex Programs: Resolving the Research Conundrum.

* Preface * The Symbolic and the Salient * Americanization Past * The New Immigrants * Language, Identity, and Belonging * Rights, Ambivalence, and Ambiguities * Backlash * More Wrongs than Rights * Setting the Record Straight * Looking Both Ways * A Meaningful Education * Notes * Index

True American: Language, Identity, and the Education of Immigrant Children

Equal Education Under Law: Legal Rights and Federal Policy in the Post-Brown Era

At no time in the past century have there been fiercer battles over our public schools than there are now. Parents and educational reformers are challenging not only the mission, content, and structure of mass compulsory schooling but also its underlying premise-that the values promoted through public education are neutral and therefore acceptable to any reasonable person. In this important book, Rosemary Salomone sets aside the ideological and inflammatory rhetoric that surrounds today's debates over educational values and family choice. She offers instead a fair-minded examination of education for democratic citizenship in a society that values freedom of conscience and religious pluralism. And she proposes a balanced course of action that redefines but does not sever the relationship between education and the state. Salomone demonstrates how contemporary conflicts are the product of past educational and social movements. She lays bare some of the myths that support the current government monopoly over education and reveals how it privileges those of economic means. Through a detailed case study of recent controversy in a suburban New York school district, the author explores the legal and policy issues that arise when widely disparate world views stand in the way of political compromise on educational materials, techniques, and programs. Salomone builds a case for educational governance that places the developmental needs of the child at the center of family autonomy. She advances a plan that respects diverse values and visions of schooling while preserving the core commitments that bind our nation.

Rosemary C. Salomone

Papers

Same, Different, Equal: Rethinking Single-Sex Schooling

Single-Sex Programs: Resolving the Research Conundrum.

True American: Language, Identity, and the Education of Immigrant Children

Equal Education Under Law: Legal Rights and Federal Policy in the Post-Brown Era

Visions of Schooling: Conscience, Community, and Common Education