whos better Essay

Submitted By poppa1989
Words: 791
Pages: 4

WHO’S BETTER?
With his brief article “Girls = Boys at Math,” an online Daily News service posted in July 2008, David Malakoff a freelance science writer and occasional contributor has a debate on who is and who is not excelling in math based on gender. “Zip. Zilch. Nada. There’s no real difference between the scores of the U.S boys and girls on common math test, according to a massive new study” (544) he states. Malakoff a freelance writer is known for “showing readers how to cover science in a way that is both accurate and easy for everyday readers to understand” (“David Malakoff”). This continues to show how he can take something so hard to comprehend and makes it suitable for any reader. Malakoff begins his article off the back by quoting Henry “Hank” Kepner, the president of the national council of Teachers of Mathematics in Reston, Virginia, “this shows there’s no real issue of intellectual ability-and that’s a message we still need to get this out to some parents and teachers” (544). He briefly states how “nearly 20 years ago there was a trivial gap in elementary schools between females’ and males” (544), but also suggested that “by the time they reach high school boys were better at solving more complex problems” (544). A more up to date studies show that on an overall scale there’s no gender difference between grades two through eleven. Malakoff also suggest that due to the 2002 federal “No Child Left Behind” law there will be no requirement for more challenging math questions. Teachers have started to drop more complex math questions from their curriculums, teaching more towards the pattern of the standardized test. Results steaming from this can finally subside reasons why females decide not to go into male dominated fields. Summing his article with a quote “the boys tend to be a little more idiosyncratic in solving problems, the girls more conservative in following what they’ve been taught, ” says Ann Gallagher, a psychologist at the Law School Admission Council in Newton, Pennsylvania who studies testing. Gender alone does not have a direct influence on how well students’ do on math test. In recent studies statistic show that not only both sexes are capable of comprehending “math” but many other aspects of the learning fields. Starting off his article by saying that there is no difference between scores lets the readers know that his article is not criticizing one gender from another. Using the strategies of pathos he knows what emotions to evoke and how to cater to ones feelings. Malakoff refers to a report by Janet Hyde a psychologist from the University of Wisconsin, which sifts through standardized test scores from 2005-2007. Among these test “7 million students from ten different states proved that there were no overall difference between genders” (544). She also points out “cultural and social factors, not gender alone, influence how well students perform on tests” (544), “its good news, because it means the test isn’t biased against girls” (545). Making many evaluations on how females are capable of matching there suitor gives essence but there are still ways that offers contradictory. There are still ongoing studies that