General

More ammo for the gender wars

Early childhood testing in Britain shows—surprise!—differences between boys and girls

Nearly three-quarters of five-year-old girls (74 per cent) could write a simple shopping list, or a letter to Santa, but only half of boys (54 per cent) could do so at the same age. Just over a quarter (26 per cent) of boys aged five could not write their names, compared with 15 per cent of girls. On the other hand, boys showed a slightly better “knowledge and understanding of the world.” More than half (54 per cent) could build objects using appropriate tools and techniques compared with 48 per cent of girls, and more boys than girls could identify everyday technology (76 per cent as opposed to 74). Some commentators demanded greater efforts to bridge the gap, others noted that approximately 100 per cent of both sexes could write their names at age 12, and recommended everyone calm down.

The Guardian

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