New Zealand: Gender gap grows in region's schools

Article here. Excerpt:

'Girls have been academically outperforming boys for years and the growing achievement disparity is an "elephant in the room" which should be causing concern, some principals say.
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The 10 per cent disparity in level 3 achievement nationally stretches to 27 per cent in co-educational secondary schools in the Nelson region.
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Mr Ching said Waimea had introduced programmes to address the achievement gap and improve boys' attitudes, including a junior boys' literacy programme - with senior male students volunteering as tutors.
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Mr Ching said the big issue in the 1980s was proving that "girls can do anything", and noone had thought twice about promoting that ideal. Now boys were the ones lagging behind.

"If we want to make a change we have to look at opportunities that will promote the performance of boys, without disadvantaging girls in any way," he said.'