1. GENDER GAP IN READING
A COMPARISON OF THE READING TAKS SCORES
AMONG 8TH GRADE MINORITY AND ECONOMICALLY
DISADVANTAGED MALES TO THEIR FEMALE PEERS
Nikki Thibault, Sam Houston State University
In partial fulfillment of the Master of Education degree

2. The Problem
Is there a boy crisis?

3. Are boys in crisis?
The nation is growing concerned about the academic
achievement of boys.
(The images above are linked to author pages, book reviews or original sources.)

4. General Evidence of a Boy Crisis
Boys Girls
Lower Report Card Grades
Higher High School Drop Out Rate
Minority of Students Enrolled in Higher Ed. 
80% Diagnosed as Emotionally Disturbed
More Likely to Engage in Criminal Activity
More Negative Attitudes Toward Reading
Negative Attitude Toward Reading Grows
with Age
Lower Reading & Writing Test Scores
Sadker, 2011 Stolzer, 2008 Baker & Wigfield, 1999

5. Boys and Literacy
An in-depth look at boys’ performance on the
National Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP)

6. NAEP: “The Nation’s Report Card”
Boys perform consistently below their female peers on
reading assessments at every grade level tested and
among every ethnicity (Mead, 2006).
(The graph above is linked to Mead’s 2006 analysis of NAEP data.)

7. Reading Gender Gaps by Race
Reading achievement gaps by race are more significant
than achievement gaps by gender (Mead, 2006).

8. NAEP National vs. State Scores
 State scores on the NAEP
Reading/Writing tests are
similar to aggregate
national scores.
 The gender gap in
reading is still present
when NAEP data is
analyzed by state.
(Louie & Ehrlich, 2008)

9. NAEP Performance Clusters
“Proficient and
“Below Basic”
Advanced”
(Not prepared for most
(prepared for higher ed
occupations)
and the workforce
All Males 32% 26%
All Females 21% 37%
Black Males 53% --
Black Females 38% --
(Kleinfield ,2009)

10. A New Study
Replicating Mead’s analysis of the NAEP
Reading scores with an in-depth look at TAKS
Reading scores

11. My Research Focus
 Quantitative analysis of
reading achievement
 Reading TAKS scores from
2003 to 2010
 Eighth grade males versus
females
 Across ethnicities and
socioeconomic status
 District-wide*
*The school district being analyzed requested anonymity.

12. Research Design: Two Perspectives
Percent Meeting Expectation Average Score as Percentage
Boys Girls Boys Girls
Caucasian Caucasian
African American African American
Hispanic Hispanic
Economically Economically
Disadvantaged Disadvantaged
Not Not
Disadvantaged Disadvantaged

13. Research Hypothesis & Implications
 The test scores I analyze will not only
reveal a gap between genders, but
also show that minority boys and boys
in poverty lag even further behind.
 Evidence will validate or diffuse the
hype about boys and ensure that
educators direct their efforts to where
they are needed most.

14. Summary
 Boys in America perform below their female
counterparts on reading assessments.
 Other indicators of school success show a gap
between boys and girls (motivation, preparedness,
behavior, etc.)
 Boys in poverty and boys of minority races show an
even poorer performance on these indicators.

15. References
Baker, L., & Wigfield, A. (1999). Dimensions of children's
motivation for reading and their relations to reading activity
and reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 34(4), 452.
Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Ellison, Jesse. (2010, June 22). The new segregation debate.
Newsweek, Retrieved from
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/22/the-new-
segregation-debate.html
Kellett, M. (2009). Children as researchers: what we can learn
from them about the impact of poverty on literacy
opportunities. International Journal of Inclusive Education,
13(4), 395-408. doi:10.1080/10236240802106606

16. References
Kleinfeld, J. (2009). The state of American boyhood. Gender
Issues, 26(2), 113-129. doi:10.1007/s12147-009-9074-z
Louie, J., and Ehrlich, S. (2008). Gender gaps in assessment
outcomes in Vermont and the United States (Issues & Answers
Report, REL 2008–No. 062). Washington, DC: U.S. Department
of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center
for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional
Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands. Retrieved from
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs.
Mead, Sara. (2006, June). The evidence suggests otherwise: the
truth about boys and girls. Retrieved from
http://www.educationsector.org/publications/truth-about-
boys-and-girls

17. References, cont’d
Newkirk, T. (2002). Misreading masculinity: boys, literacy, and
popular culture. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational Books.
Sadker, D. (2011). An educator's primer on the gender war. Phi
Delta Kappan, 92(5), 81-88. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Stolzer, J. M. (2008). Boys and the American education system: a
biocultural review of the literature. Ethical Human Psychology &
Psychiatry, 10(2), 80-95. doi:10.1891/1559-4343.10.2.80
Tyre, P. (2009). The trouble with boys: a surprising report card on
our sons, their problems at school, and what parents and
educators must do. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press.

18. References, cont’d
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
Statistics. (2010). Digest of Education Statistics, 2009 (NCES
2010-013), Chapter 2.
Whitmire, R. (2010). Why boys fail: saving our sons from an
educational system that's leaving them behind. New York, NY:
Amacom Books.