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The Gender Gap in TIMSS Scores
Did the effort to narrow the gap also push SAT scores down 98 points? Is this the reason no other country scored lower than the US on TIMSS geometry? The US is one of the few countries whose 12th graders scored lower in TIMSS geometry than their 8th graders scored in TIMSS Math--by 76 points. Scores of students in most higher scoring countries increased between the 8th and 12th grades. The gap in the US did not narrow because female scores increased faster than male scores. It narrowed because male scores decreased faster than female scores. The problem is not just between 8th and 12th grades because our 8th graders already score 26th out of 41 nations in TIMSS Math. Such an accomplishment is no doubt a dead end street. Is this 76 point drop due to an active, counterproductive effort by educators, or is it due to the lack of a specific effort which is present in other countries. The graph which shows that TIMSS scores around the world increase 3 points for each 1 point increase in the gap in TIMSS scores provides a clue. For example, the Netherlands scores 119 points higher than the US and has a gender gap 42 points higher. Austria scores 79 points higher and has a gap 19 points higher. Lithuania scores 19 points higher and has a gap 12 points higher. There is a definite trend between increasing TIMSS scores and an increasing gap. What is the underlying reason for this correlation? It should be fairly obvious that there is a fundamental difference in the education philosophy between these countries. It is impossible for such correlation to exist by mere coincidence. Comments regarding what this underlying difference is would be greatly appreciated. John Knight
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Modified Monday, July 13, 2009 Copyright @ 2007 by Fathers' Manifesto & Christian Party |
The Department of Education notes with pride that
the US has one of the lowest 
