"Study: Girls can add just as well as boys"
by Wendy Hansen
The Charlotte Observer
by Wendy Hansen
The Charlotte Observer
Front Page, Friday, July 25, 2008
Summary: This newspaper article reports that a study of standardized test scores of U.S. students in grades 2 through 11 found no difference in math scores for boys and girls. The study also undermines the theory that boys are more likely to be math geniuses. Girls scored in the top 5% almost as often as the boys. The improvement of test scores may be attributable to pressures to get into selective colleges prompting the girls to take more advanced math classes, such as calculus.
Connection to Psychology: This article relates to the section on Stereotypes in Chapter 14 of our textbook. A stereotype is a false assumption that all members of a group share the same characteristics. The stereotype that girls can not do math as well as boys has been a pervasive belief for many years. The stereotype was so strong that Mattel felt impelled to create a talking Barbie doll that had a recording saying "Math class is hard." It is great to see an article that refutes this stereotype.
Summary: This newspaper article reports that a study of standardized test scores of U.S. students in grades 2 through 11 found no difference in math scores for boys and girls. The study also undermines the theory that boys are more likely to be math geniuses. Girls scored in the top 5% almost as often as the boys. The improvement of test scores may be attributable to pressures to get into selective colleges prompting the girls to take more advanced math classes, such as calculus.
Connection to Psychology: This article relates to the section on Stereotypes in Chapter 14 of our textbook. A stereotype is a false assumption that all members of a group share the same characteristics. The stereotype that girls can not do math as well as boys has been a pervasive belief for many years. The stereotype was so strong that Mattel felt impelled to create a talking Barbie doll that had a recording saying "Math class is hard." It is great to see an article that refutes this stereotype.
1 comment:
In Chapter 1, correlational studies examine relationships between variables in order to describe, test , analyze hypotheses. In "Sterotypes, a correlational study could be done through a survey to get a better picture on which sex is actually smarter in Math
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