"Where the Girls Are"

AAUW Report Debunks So-Called “Boys’ Crisis” in Education

Income Disparity More Influential than Gender in Educational Achievement, Says Most Comprehensive Analysis to Date

On May 20, AAUW released the most comprehensive analysis to date on trends in educational achievement by gender, race, ethnicity, and income. This report shows that girls and boys from the fourth grade through the end of college are making steady educational gains. An analysis of data from all 50 states indicates that girls’ successes do not come at the expense of boys. This report is also the first to analyze gender differences within economic and ethnic categories. The data show that family income is more closely associated with academic success than with gender.

The report, Where the Girls Are: The Facts About Gender Equity in Education, presents a comprehensive look at girls’ educational achievement during the past 35 years, paying special attention to the relationship between girls’ and boys’ progress. Analyses of results from national standardized tests and other measures of educational achievement, provide an overall picture of trends in gender equity at all educational levels.

Some highlights from the report:

Girls’ Academic Success Does Not Penalize Boys

Income More Influential than Gender

Consistently, a rise in family income is associated with a rise in test scores. Differences in educational achievement vary by race/ethnicity and family income level.

Overall, educational achievement has improved or stayed the same, and more men and women are graduating from college than ever before. Girls have made rapid gains in many areas, but boys are also gaining ground on most indicators of academic achievement.

View the complete report: Where the Girls Are: The Facts About Gender Equity in Education.

Educational Foundation Named Gift Honorees for the AAUW CA Online Branch

Being designated as a Named Gift Honoree is a very special honor in AAUW. The award is reserved for members who have made extraordinary gifts of time and hard work to the branch. And the award signifies that branch members contributed $750 to the Educational Foundation, in the name of each honoree.

Teresa Cheung, 2007-2008 Honoree

Teresa is one of the founders of the Online Branch, which started in 2001. Her energy, skills, and positive outlook helped get this "branch of the future" up and running in the present. From 2001 to 2003 Teresa was co-president and tech VP. She also served on the bylaws committee. In 2004 Teresa continued as tech VP and added finance chair to her duties. She then "retired" from active duty as a branch officer and returned to school for a master's degree. We can truly say that our fledgling Online branch would not have survived without Teresa's years of dedication.

Amber Chiang, 2007-2008 Honoree
Amber took over as technology/communications VP in 2005, a position she still holds. She rebuilt the website and set up our listservs -- the way we communicate, since we do not have meetings. Amber is on call to post, fix, delete, add, and link. She answers all our technical questions cheerfully, researches options that we would like to have, and tells us if they are possible. Her input ensured that our PowerPoint presentation for Association convention was professional in quality.

On a daily basis Amber is a diplomat. She cheerfully and diplomatically redirects the endless flow of visitors who reach our site -- when they really want AAUW - CA.

Sandy Kirkpatrick , 2006-2007 Honoree
Sandy was president of the Online branch from 2004 to 2006. She engineered the switch from chatrooms, which had proved unwieldy, to the current listserv format. This change allowed us to make breaking news our “program,” with a focus on AAUW public policy priorities. Because online communication facilitates quick response, the branch was able to act when South Dakota passed an anti-abortion law. We quickly developed a resolution protesting South Dakota’s action, and the resolution was passed at the California convention.

Sandy spearheaded a PowerPoint presentation for the 2007 Association convention that brought national attention to the branch and recruited many new members from other states. She mentored a member who wanted to set up an online branch

in Texas.