Girls top of class (but don't worry, boys)

Published on Tuesday 23 September 2008 22:10

GIRLS still outperform boys at every stage of the school exam process, according to new statistics.

However, education experts said boys eventually catch up and that Scotland should be "sanguine" about the disparity.

Scottish exams body the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) revealed girls are also still far more likely to stay on at school after Standard grades to study Highers.

Last year, 73 per cent of boys sitting Standard grades achieved five good passes, compared with 78 per cent of girls. Both figures have changed little in the past four years.

In fifth year, 19 per cent of boys achieved three or more Highers, compared with 25 per cent of girls – these figures have not changed in three years. Of those teenagers in fourth year, 61 per cent of boys chose to stay on to study Highers compared to 69 per cent of girls.

Henry Maitles, head of curricular studies in Strathclyde University's education faculty, said there was no cause for alarm. "For 100 years boys did better at school than girls because of subject bias," he said.

"Now, over the last ten years, girls do better than boys, and it seems to be a problem for some reason. We should be sanguine about it."

He blamed the immaturity of boys and an exam system which lent itself to rote learning – a technique that suits girls better, but explained boys tend to catch up by the end of university, when they become more focused.

He said: "At that point girls can be more content with a lower degree but boys have become men and are more driven."

Teachers also played down the significance of the disparity. Jim Docherty, of the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association, said: "It may be the case that boys are more easily distracted from their work, but even that is just a theory.

"There is not the hard empirical research to prove that is the case.

"But it has to be borne in mind that boys do catch up – it is not a big issue."

Scotland's biggest teaching union, the EIS, congratulated this year's cohort for high performance and said they perform highly in all international comparisons. However, the union accepted the gap between boys and girls in exam performance was a cause for concern.

An EIS spokesman said: "Societal factors such as peer-group pressure and differing levels of maturity when comparing girls and boys certainly have a part to play in explaining this.

"Finding ways to better engage boys in learning in early secondary school is key in tackling this issue."

The statistics also show East Dunbartonshire is again one of the highest-performing local authorities in Scotland.

At Standard grade 90 per cent of S4 pupils in the area achieved five or more good passes. The Scottish average was 76 per cent.

At Higher grade it was beaten to the top spot only by East Renfrewshire, which saw 47 per cent of pupils gain three or more Highers. The Scottish average for Higher was 22 per cent.

In East Dunbartonshire, 39 per cent gained three or more Highers.

At the other end of the scale, Glasgow and Dundee came bottom for Standard grade passes, at 65 and 64 per cent respectively, indicating levels of deprivation affect results.

Glasgow also propped up the table at Higher grade,with just 15 per cent of those who decided to stay on until fifth year achieving a total of three or more Highers.

These teenagers will be among the last to sit Standard grades with the announcement earlier this year that the qualification would be scrapped forever.

In four years' time, a General exam will be introduced with a compulsory literacy and maths test for school-leavers.

FACT BOX

CHANGES to the school examination system, announced by education secretary Fiona Hyslop in April, have been broadly welcomed.

The new General grade will replace the Standard grade, which was hailed in its day as being a truly comprehensive and equitable qualification as it allowed every child to gain certification.

However, it has become seen as too prescriptive, too easy and therefore not offering enough preparation for the more challenging Higher exams.

As a consequence, new Intermediate qualifications were introduced to provide a springboard between the two.

Many schools began to drop the Standard grade altogether and offer just the Intermediate.

The Intermediate will also disappear under the new exams which are to be introduced in four years.

The changes are intended to complement the new school curriculum, the Curriculum for Excellence ,already under way in schools across Scotland.

It is intended to be more pupil centred and cross-curricular and have a greater Scottish focus than previously in subjects such as history.