Date: Fri 03-Jul-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

edink-gender-bias-Title-IX

Full Text:

ED INK: Gender Bias In The Schools

A committee of parents and educators studying gender bias in Newtown schools

has submitted data to the Board of Education that suggests that the local

school system may be favoring boys. In particular, the panel noted that the

placement of a disproportionate number of boys into higher level math classes

in the ninth grade is "extremely troubling."

The committee was formed on the 25th anniversary of federal Title IX

legislation prohibiting sex discrimination in American schools. While its

recent report demonstrates the school district's consciousness and concern

about gender issues in the classroom and on the athletic fields, which is

commendable, its conclusions may be incomplete and a little premature. The

committee's recommendations are based on statistics from just a single school

year -- a snapshot of the school system that is fairly useless in determining

trends.

For example, the ninth-grade math placements, which drew so much concern in

the panel's report, may have been an anomaly. Newtown Middle School Principal

Les Weintraub reported this week that the latest set of recommendations for

ninth-grade math placements, formulated prior to the release of the gender

equity report this week, break evenly between boys and girls.

We urge school administrators to continue the good work of the gender bias

study committee by gathering data annually on the placements of boys and

girls, particularly in math and the sciences, and by reviewing how resources

are allocated for support services. As one member of the study committee

pointed out, gender bias can be subtle, escaping the notice of even the most

enlightened educators. But its cumulative effect is still discrimination and a

violation of federal law. Guarding against it will require vigilance year in,

year out.