Female Supremacy Articles - Page 23

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Mr. Nassirian said some college admissions officers think the problem stems primarily from shortcomings in the K-12 education system, while other officers think the problem lies in colleges' marketing and messaging -- that somehow boys are overlooked or discouraged by the messages they receive from higher education. "My guess is that a little of both would be the case," Mr. Nassirian said.

Ms. King's 2006 study found the college gap is still the widest between minority men and minority women -- leading some, like Ms. Mead, to argue that if the word "crisis" is to be used, it should be used for the plight of minority boys.

But Mrs. Sommers said problems for all boys begins in younger grades. She said girls, on average, adapt better to school from the early grades, traditional classrooms aren't set up to accommodate boys' natural energy, and that, while state and federal efforts have aggressively aimed to improve girls' performance in science and math, there hasn't been an equal effort to help boys' in their weaker subjects of reading and writing.

"All of the emphasis has been on girls. Boys were left on the back burner," Mrs. Sommers said.