Does Better Classroom Behavior Mean Better Grades for Girls?

So, guess what? It doesn't matter if boys have higher scores on standardized tests than do girls. When it comes to grades, girls seem to earn higher marks because their classroom behavior is better.

That's according to a new study conducted by economists Chris Cornwell and David Mustard, who are in UGA's Terry College of Business, and Jessica Van Parys at Columbia University. The study was featured in a news release on e!Science.

The researchers looked at data from 5,800 students in grades K through fifth grade. They studied students' performance on standardized tests and then linked test scores to teachers' assessments of their students' progress, both academically and more broadly.

The data indicate that gender disparities in teacher grades start early and uniformly favor girls. In every subject area, boys are represented in grade distributions below where their test scores would predict.

"The skill that matters the most in regards to how teachers graded their students is what we refer to as 'approaches toward learning,'" said Cornwell. "You can think of 'approaches to learning' as a rough measure of what a child's attitude toward school is: It includes six items that rate the child's attentiveness, task persistence, eagerness to learn, learning independence, flexibility and organization. I think that anybody who's a parent of boys and girls can tell you that girls are more of all of that."

While the study doesn't report anything new--gender discrepancies have been in evidence for some time. Cornwell says what isn't clear is how to combat it.