• Introduction
• Preparation for School
• Elementary and Secondary Education
• Postsecondary Education
• Outcomes
• Conclusion

Congress, under the Women's Educational Equity Act provisions (Title V, Part B) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (as amended in 1994), requested the Secretary of Education to prepare a report on the status of educational equity for girls and women in the United States. This report responds to that request by assembling indicators that examine the extent to which males and females have access to the same educational opportunities, avail themselves equally of these opportunities, perform at the same level, succeed at the same rate, and obtain the same benefits.¹

The data are drawn primarily from surveys conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), although several other sources of national and international data are used as well. While the indicators in this report provide valuable information on many aspects of educational equity, some important issues cannot be addressed with available nationally representative data. Examples include the extent to which sexual harassment undermines the ability of schools to provide a safe learning environment and whether girls and young women are encouraged to challenge themselves in their educational pursuits, especially in mathematics and science.

The data show that in school and in college, females are now doing as well as or better than males in many of the indicators of educational attainment, and that the large gaps in educational attainment that once existed between men and women have significantly decreased or been eliminated altogether. Nevertheless, there are other areas in both elementary/secondary and postsecondary education in which differences persist.

Boys and girls start school on a similar footing in terms of at least some of the same learning opportunities. Girls and boys appear to have similar access to the types of opportunities that help prepare them for school.

In 1996, 67 percent of girls and 65 percent of boys ages 3-5 were enrolled in center-based programs or kindergarten (about the same percentages as in 1991). At home, 84 percent of the girls and 82 percent of the boys in this age group had been read to three or more times in the past week; 82 percent of both boys and girls had been told a story at least once in the past week; and 38 percent of each had visited a library at least once in the past month. For both boys and girls, participation in reading activities generally increased between 1991 and 1996.

Aspects of progress through school include promotion from grade to grade, problems encountered along the way, and high school completion. In each of these areas, female students have done as well as or better than their male peers.

In 1995, girls ages 5-12 were less likely than boys of this age group to have repeated a grade since starting school (5 percent vs. 8 percent). Among children in grades 1-3 in 1995, girls were more likely than boys to be described by their parents as being near the top of their class (51 percent vs. 41 percent). In addition, girls were less likely than boys to have their parents contacted by their schools about problems with their behavior or schoolwork. Also in 1995, about half as many girls as boys in grades 1-12 were identified as having a learning disability (2 percent vs. 5 percent).

Between 1972 and 1997, the status dropout rates for both male and female 16- to 24-year-olds (i.e., the percentage who had not completed high school and were not enrolled in school) decreased for every racial/ethnic group except Hispanics. Among Hispanics, the female dropout rate declined, but the male rate did not change significantly.

Young females who give birth while still of high school age are much less likely than their peers to complete high school. Among 1988 female 8th-graders, the high school completion rate as of 1994 was 54 percent for those who had a child before 1992. In contrast, 94 percent of 1988 8th-graders who had no children by 1994 had completed high school.

Academic performance is a key measure of school success because doing well in school opens doors to postsecondary education and to well-paying jobs. Overall, females have done much better than males in reading and writing, but have generally, though not always, lagged behind in science and mathematics.

Beginning in 1971 and continuing through every year of assessment, females ages 9, 13, and 17 have tested higher than their male peers in reading assessments administered as part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Females in grades 4, 8, and 11 have outperformed their male peers in writing as well since 1988. Differences in male and female writing achievement have been relatively large, with male 11th-graders scoring at about the same level as female 8th-graders in 1996. Consistent with these results, females were much more likely than males to take AP exams in English and foreign languages in 1997 and to score 3 or higher, which usually allows them to receive college credit.

Between 1973 and 1996, females ages 9 and 13 were usually more likely to score lower than males in science. At age 17, males have almost always outperformed their female peers, but the gender gap in science proficiency has narrowed for 17-year-olds in recent years. In addition to scoring higher in the NAEP assessments, males were more likely than females to take AP examinations in science in 1997 and to earn a score of 3 or higher.

The situation in mathematics has been somewhat different. From 1973 to 1994, gender differences in mathematics scores did not exist for 9- and 13-year-olds. In 1996, however, the achievement scores of males slightly exceeded those of females at both ages because of increases in performance for males. Among 17-year-olds, males have achieved significantly higher average mathematics proficiency scores than females in some, but not all, years.

Gender differences in mathematics and science proficiency also have been observed for countries participating in international studies. In 1995, in general, boys and girls performed similarly in mathematics and science around the 4th grade in about half of the countries, with differences emerging more systematically among older students.²

Achievement gaps appear more closely related to attitudes than to coursetaking. Female high school graduates in 1998 were at least as likely as their male peers to have taken upper-level mathematics classes, such as algebra II, trigonometry, precalculus, and calculus (figure A). They were more likely than males to have taken biology and chemistry. However, among 8th- and 12th-graders in 1996, females were less likely than males to like mathematics and science. Among 4th-, 8th-, and 12th-graders, females were less likely than males to think that they were good at mathematics and science.

The computer has become an important tool in the home, classroom, and workplace. Females are generally just as likely as males to use computers at home and at school, although some of the activities for which they use computers differ.

Extracurricular and community service activities offer opportunities for students to develop skills that are important in the workplace and in society, such as individual and group responsibility and a sense of community. Males and females tend to participate in different types of extracurricular activities (figure B). In 1995, female high school seniors were more likely than their male peers to participate in music or other performing arts, belong to academic clubs, work on the school newspaper or yearbook, or participate in the student council or government. In contrast, male seniors were more likely than female seniors to play on athletic teams.

Females are more active than males in community service activities. In 1996, 53 percent of females in grades 6-12 reported participating in some sort of community service activity, and 29 percent reported that they did so regularly. In contrast, 45 percent of their male peers reported participating, and 22 percent reported participating regularly.

High school students' plans for further education indicate the importance that young people attach to postsecondary education, and aspirations are a first step toward attainment. Both aspirations and enrollment rates of women have increased, and women are now ahead of men in both areas.

In 1995, female high school seniors were more likely than males to definitely plan to graduate from a 4-year college (60 percent vs. 49 percent). Between 1980 and 1995, the percentage of females who reported that they would definitely attend graduate or professional school doubled, from 10 to 22 percent, whereas the proportion of males with this aspiration increased more modestly, from 12 to 16 percent. Increasing proportions of both men and women have been enrolling in college in the fall after finishing high school; in 1997, 70 percent of females and 64 percent of males did so.

Since 1970, a steadily increasing proportion of the undergraduate population has been female. In 1970, 42 percent of all undergraduates were women, increasing to 56 percent in 1996. Women were a majority of both part-time and full-time enrollees.

Figure A.—Percentage of high school graduates who took selected courses in high school: 1998

Figure B.—Percentage of high school seniors who reported participating in after-school activities, by type of activity: 1995

Women have made even greater gains at the graduate level. In 1970, 39 percent of all graduate students were women, but in 1996, 56 percent of graduate students were women. The majority of first-professional students (e.g., postbaccalaureate students in such fields as medicine, dentistry, law, and theology) are men, but women have made dramatic gains in their representation since 1970. While 9 percent of the students in first-professional degree programs were women in 1970, by 1996, 40 percent of part-time and 42 percent of full-time first-professional students were women.

Completion of postsecondary programs is an important indicator of personal success and an educational climate that fosters success for all. Among freshmen who enrolled in a college or university for the first time in 1989-90 seeking a bachelor's degree, a greater percentage of women (50 percent) than men (41 percent) had earned a bachelor's degree by 1994. Similar proportions of men and women had earned associate's degrees (about 5 percent) and certificates (3 percent and 4 percent, respectively).

Considering degree attainment more generally (not just among those who started in 1989-90), women earned more than half of all bachelor's degrees in 1996 (55 percent). The increase in participation by women in postsecondary education over the past 25 years has meant that, among the general population ages 25-29 in 1997, a slightly larger percentage of women than men have a bachelor's or higher degree (29 percent vs. 26 percent). Male and female bachelor's degree recipients tend to choose different majors, however; in 1996-97, women were much more likely than men to earn degrees in education, health, and psychology (not shown), whereas men were more likely than women to earn degrees in engineering, physical sciences, and computer science (figure C).

A similar pattern is seen at the graduate level . While the percentage of master's, doctoral, and first-professional degrees earned by women increased substantially in all fields between 1970 and 1996, women earned a majority of the master's and doctoral degrees in education and health in 1996, and men earned nearly three-quarters of the degrees in computer science and a higher proportion in engineering. In addition, 44 percent of law degrees, 41 percent of medical degrees, and 36 percent of dentistry degrees were awarded to women.

One final measure of women's equity at the college level is participation in NCAA-sponsored sports. In 1996-97, men outnumbered women in collegiate sports participation. However, female athletes were more likely than male athletes to graduate in a timely fashion. Among women athletes who entered college in 1992, 68 percent graduated by 1998, compared with 52 percent of men.

Higher levels of educational attainment are associated with higher labor force participation rates, higher rates of employment, and higher earnings. In the United States, as in other selected large, industrialized countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom) in 1995, women ages 25-64 had lower labor force participation rates than men at all levels of education. Labor force participation for women in this age group generally increased with educational attainment, however, narrowing the gap between men and women at higher education levels.

Although women have been less likely than men to be employed at all levels of educational attainment, gender gaps in employment rates have narrowed over time. For example, in 1971, 94 percent of men and 43 percent of women ages 25-34 with a high school diploma or GED were employed (a difference of 51 percentage points). By 1997, 86 percent of men and 70 percent of women with this level of education were employed, narrowing the gap to 16 percentage points. Between 1971 and 1997, the gender gap generally decreased as education level increased.

Women's median annual earnings for full-time, year-round workers are lower than those of their male counterparts with the same level of educational attainment. However, this gap has been narrowing. In 1970, women ages 25-34 with a bachelor's degree had a median annual salary equivalent to 57 percent of what their male peers earned; in 1997, it was 78 percent.

The median annual starting salary (in constant 1997 dollars) for 1992-93 college graduates who were working full time and not enrolled in school was $26,700 for males and $22,500 for females. Variations in major field of study account for some of this difference. For example, for those who majored in engineering, females had a median starting salary that was similar to that of their male peers. For students who majored in business, females had a median starting salary that was about $4,000 less than that of their male peers.

Higher levels of educational attainment bring proportionally larger benefits for women than for men. Women ages 25-34 with a bachelor's degree or higher who worked full time year-round in 1997 earned 61 percent more than their counterparts with no more than a high school education. The earnings advantage for their male counterparts was 54 percent.

Figure C.—Percentage of bachelor's degrees conferred, by selected fields: 1996-97

By most of the indicators in this report, females are doing at least as well as males. Girls and boys begin school with similar preschool and early literacy participation experiences, and female students have consistently outperformed their male peers in reading and writing. Females have tended to lag behind males in science and mathematics, however.

Since the early 1970s, women have made dramatic gains in postsecondary education in terms of enrollment and attainment, and are successful relative to men in aspirations, enrollment, and bachelor's degree completion. Gender differences in college majors persist, however, with women still concentrated in fields like education and men more likely than women to earn degrees in engineering, physics, and computer science.

In terms of labor market outcomes, the findings are mixed. Women ages 25-34 are less likely than their male counterparts to be employed, but women with higher levels of educational attainment are employed at rates more similar to those of men than are women with lower levels of attainment. Women tend to earn less than men with similar educational attainment.