Women's Group Says Boys Not In Crisis; Female Reporters Agree
The news coverage of the gender education issue continues to disappoint:
Yesterday's front-page Washington Post story identified the report's source and included a dissenting view but that's about it -- no examination of the quality of the report itself (No Crisis For Boys In Schools, Study Says).
The Times' story includes no dissenting view at all and seems to suggest that the report confirms most other studies, which I don't think is the case (Girls’ Gains Have Not Cost Boys, Report Says).
EdWeek says something but I still can't the site to accept my password or something (AAUW Sees No Educational Crisis for Boys
Not everyone is content to let the AAUW report on gender differences in education go unexamined: Surprise--The AAUW Finds that More Girls than Boys in College (Reason), About that education crisis (Sara Mead on TNR), and Our view on gender and education (Richard Whitmire at USA Today).
This is a report, not research. This report comes from an advocacy group, not an independent or academic organization. Journalistic orthodoxy is that researchers' and reporters' own personal views and experiences (including gender) don't shape their writing, but let's be honest: that's just not humanly possible. I'll let others consider the quality or completeness of the work itself.
