Some of you were looking for some facts concerning youth, reading, etc...
Here are some stats coming from across the pond...
I¹m just curious to know how they match with some from this side...
Montois
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jul/29/early-learning-gender-gap
Huge gender gap in young children's abilities revealed in government figures
€ Study finds girls outperform boys at most levels
€ But boys showed better 'understanding of world'
Anthea Lipsett
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 29 July 2009 19.43 BST
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One in four boys still struggle to write their own name by the age of five,
according to new government figures that reveal a huge gender gap in young
children's abilities.
Three in 10 five-year-old boys have trouble reciting the alphabet and one in
five are unable to count to 10, according to statistics representing England
and Wales, published for the first time today.
The figures from the Department for Children, Schools and Families show how
many five-year-olds reached specific early learning goals last year.
Girls outperform boys at most levels with 78% of girls able to hold a pencil
and write recognisable letters, compared with 62% of boys.
Nearly three-quarters of five-year-old girls (74%) could write a simple
shopping list, or a letter to Father Christmas, but only half of boys (54%)
could do so at the same age. Just over a quarter (26%) of boys aged five
could not write their names, compared with 15% of girls.
Girls were also shown to be more creative than boys: 71% of five-year-old
girls were found to be imaginative in art and design, music, dance, role
play and stories. They responded in a variety of ways to what they saw,
heard, smelt, touched and felt, compared with just over half (52%) of boys.
But boys showed a slightly better "knowledge and understanding of the world"
one of the early years goals. More than half (54%) could build objects
using appropriate tools and techniques compared with 48% of girls and more
could identify everyday technology (76% as opposed to 74%). Around 7% of
boys and 6% of girls could add and subtract.
The "experimental" results show that only a fraction of five-year-olds
achieved all the early learning goals or consistently worked beyond them.
The 2007-08 results were based on observations by teachers and nursery
workers, taken before last September's introduction of the Early Years
Foundation Stage (EYFS) the so-called "nappy curriculum", which covers
children's physical, intellectual, emotional and social development.
Children's progress towards early learning goals set by the government must
now be monitored in every nursery, childminder and reception class.
Children's minister, Dawn Primarolo, said: "I am pleased to see the
improvements in young children's achievement last year, with 21,000 more
children reaching a good level of development and I am particularly pleased
to see that the lowest-achieving children have not only kept pace but
improved faster than the rest.
"We are making progress on narrowing the gender gap in young children's
achievement but we know that we need to do more. The summary results from
last year showed an improvement in boys' achievement across all areas of
learning and that in some they are improving at a faster rate than girls.
"We are improving access to early years services and raising their quality.
Our investment and reform meant that last year that there were not only
improvements in overall achievement but also that the lowest achievers are
doing even better and starting to catch up."
Anne Longfield, chief executive of the charity 4Children, said the data
would help to track very young children's development: "Progress made in the
early years is crucial in furthering children's educational development and
the likelihood of them achieving their full potential."
She said girls outperforming boys in communication and creativity was of
particular concern and boys should be encouraged to develop these skills so
they did not lag behind in school or later life.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
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