Female Supremacy Articles - Page 20

Screen 24 of 39

But the education gender gaps transcend race and class. Among high school seniors who have at least one parent who graduated from college, 23% of the boys read at "below basic" levels on national tests, compared with only 7% of the girls. At many nearly all-white high schools, girls dominate the academic honors and run the prominent student activities.

On Tuesday, the American Council on Education reported that the biggest slide on campus has occurred among lower-income white males and Hispanic men. Among white students from all income backgrounds, the report found, gender gaps first emerged in the late 1990s and have widened each year since then.

Boys from higher-income families continue to go to college at high rates, mostly because there's a college for anyone whose checks don't bounce, even C-average boys. But too many of these boys end up in unchallenging courses or drop out because they were poorly prepared for college work.

College matters because workers with bachelor's degrees earn salaries that average 62% higher than full-time employees with only high school diplomas. More important, in a global economy a bachelor's degree just gets you to the starting gate.

The blue-collar项圈 — a band worn around the neck jobs that once supported families are drying up, affecting males more than females. So if a focused effort isn't made to address boys' needs, as was done successfully a generation ago for girls, many boys' futures will be grim, and the nation's ability to compete will slide.