UK: Girls 13 Boys 0: Testing reveals gender gap in basic skills

Article here. Excerpt:

'Girls are racing ahead of boys in a whole range of skills, from reading and writing to showing the ability to concentrate before they even start their first day of school. An analysis of the basic assessments carried out on every four-year-old before they start compulsory schooling shows a 20 percentage point gap already emerging in writing ability, with 74 per cent of girls able to use writing for a variety of purposes, compared with just 54 per cent of boys.

For the first time, the Government has published a gender breakdown of boys' and girls' results in the 117 different point scores they can achieve in the assessments. It reveals that boys perform better than girls in only three of the 117 points. They top the scale for mathematical development – attained by 7 per cent of boys and 6 per cent of girls – and are better at getting to grips with new technology and at building and constructing objects. In every other area of the curriculum, however, girls are either streets ahead or equal to boys.'