Factors Responsible for the Superior Performance of Male Students in Years 3 and 5 Standardised Testing in One Australian Primary School

Abstract

The project reported here investigated a primary school where boys out-perform girls in standardised tests in literacy and numeracy, contradicting general findings on male and female academic performance. The project aim was to isolate school-based factors from community-based factors responsible for this phenomenon, and to explore the possibility that rather than boys being advantaged, girls were being disadvantaged by practices at the school. The approach adopted employed case-study methods and ethnographic approaches, including interviews, document analysis, analysis of student performance data, and structured and unstructured observation of a range of school activities. Factors responsible for the superior performance of boys in standardised testing at the school and possible implications are explored.