On Misreading Academic Studies

“Kindergarten Rigged Against Boys” declared the headline from the New York Magazine blog site, The Cut.  I then read a piece that proceeded to take umbrage with the findings of a recent study from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business which shows that girls receive higher grades than boys at early ages while simultaneously not earning higher scores on standardized tests aimed at accessing similar content.  The study, published in the Journal of Human Resources, was co-authored by Christopher Cornwell, head of the economics department at UGA, David Mustard, also at UGA, and Jessica Van Parys at Columbia.  According to UGA’s website, the team “analyzed data on more than 5,800 students from kindergarten through fifth grade.  It examined students' performance on standardized tests in three categories - reading, math and science - linking test scores to teachers' assessments of their students’ progress, both academically and more broadly.”

In publishing their critique, the writers and editors of The Cut evidently were unaware of the rigorous standards and ethics of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) procedures to which social scientists must adhere when studying what are affectionately referred to in the academic vernacular as “human subjects.”  They would prefer instead it seems to imply something more nefarious is at play among this team of one female and two male economists.  First, they snidely summarize the study’s findings as, “All the elementary school teachers unjustly rewarding girls for having neat Trapper Keepers and not biting anyone on the playground may be screwing boys over for life.”  They then hint that Cornwell and his team’s conclusions are not entirely objective, suggesting “Cornwell won’t go so far as to say the Kindergarten teachers are sexist, but he can’t help but notice how many girl-favoring elementary school educators happen to be women.”

The Cut would not have to impugn the study’s methods or its authors had they consulted that part of the National Center for Educational Statistics' (NCES) most recent "Digest of Educational Statistics" that reports the number of awarded education degrees based on gender for 2009-2010.  I determined the percentages of men and women earning degrees for all levels of educational instruction based on the NCES’ reported numbers in the table below.

Not only do women represent the majority of education degree earners overall, but they are the overwhelming majority of degree earners in early childhood and kindergarten education, at approximately 97 percent for both Bachelor and Master degrees.  Women even dominate among degree earners beyond the early grade levels, comprising the majority of degree earners in Elementary and Middle School education.  The gap narrows a bit for High School teachers at the Bachelor’s level, but increases dramatically at the Masters and Doctorate levels; approximately 41 to 59, 36 to 64, and 38 to 62, respectively.

My point is not to defend the study’s authors.  I trust they are capable of defending themselves from any potential criticism.  Nor is it my intent to suggest that there is some so-called crisis of boys, as has been in the popular mindset for some time now.  Rather, I wish to highlight the dismissive attitudes that prevail towards academic studies that might not confirm some people’s previously held beliefs or do not otherwise conform to someone’s world view.  I am not a professional blogger or journalist, nor do I have at my disposal the quantity or quality of resources the editors or writers of an outfit like New York Magazine likely have at theirs.  Yet, it seems I was able to shed more light on this topic with just a couple of hours of research than they were by (apparently) reading only UGA’s press release of the topic.  At the very least, such a shallow or simple reading of an academic study is irresponsible of them.  At worst, such irresponsibility does a disservice to the essential work academics do in the name of public service, public policy, and education.

Table 1: Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate Degrees Conferred by Education Level and Gender, 2009-2010

Degrees/Levels	Bachelors			Masters			Doctorate
	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female
All Education (#)	101,265	20,726	80,539	182,139	41,276	140,843	9,233	3,023	6,210
All Education (%)	100.00	20.47	79.53	100.00	22.66	77.33	100.00	32.74	67.26
Early Childhood (#)	9,636	327	9,309	2,513	88	2,425	22	2	20
Early Childhood (%)	100.00	3.39	96.61	100.00	3.50	96.50	100.00	9.09	90.91
Kindergarten (#)	1,787	48	1,739	318	10	308	9	2	7
Kindergarten (%)	100.00	2.69	97.31	100.00	3.14	96.86	100.00	22.22	77.78
Elementary (#)	39,312	3,360	35,952	17,030	1,922	15,108	40	2	38
Elementary (%)	100.00	8.55	91.45	100.00	11.29	88.71	100.00	5.00	95.00
Junior High/Middle School (#)	2,607	574	2,033	1,285	308	977	2	0	2
Junior High/Middle School (%)	100.00	22.02	77.98	100.00	23.97	76.03	100.00	0.00	100.00
Secondary (#)	3,613	1,472	2,141	8,961	3,248	5,713	16	6	10
Secondary (%)	100.00	40.74	59.26	100.00	36.25	63.75	100.00	37.50	62.50

Source: National Center for Educational Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics