University women producing better grades than men
People disagree about
whether the statistic is
valid or coincidental
By Erin Snelgrove
Oregon Daily Emerald
For decades, the battle of the
sexes has ensued. In the category
of academics, University women
are the reigning champions.
Success can be measured by
different methods. When it comes
to school, a commonly accepted
method is the grade-point aver
age. Comparing the scores of men
and women, the females are
championing the academic scene.
According to the Office of the
Registrar’s Profile of Students, the
number of females entering the
University with 4.0 CPAs is near
ly double that of men and has
been so since 1995.
This trend of academic superi
ority continues during college as
well. Women have consistently
earned higher GPAs than men at
the University. However, the
grade gap is not as great.
Although no one can give an
answer for why the trend is occur
ring, everyone has an opinion.
Some maintain that the data is co
incidental, others declare men
and women learn differently.
Susan Lesyk, the director for
the Center for Academic Learning
Services, said she believes the dif
ference between male and female
academic performance relates to
how gender roles have changed.
“My opinion is that for the past
decade there has been a shift in
what women are taught to expect
from themselves,” Lesyk said.
"Now women know their minds
are worth more than their appear
ances. Because of the belief, they
devote more energy towards re
ceiving an education.”
Lesyk said the discrepancies
between the grades can also be
traced to the differences in child
hood behavior. As a mother of a
son and a daughter and as a class
room volunteer, Lesyk has seen
dramatic differences in gender be
havior in school.
While working in her daugh
ter’s classroom, Lesyk has seen
how boys and girls each apply
themselves to assignments.
“The boys tend to want imme
diate gratification,” Lesyk said.
“When doing a math problem,
they wouldn’t show all the steps
they took to reach the answers,
even though the teachers request
ed the information. The girls,
though, listened to the teacher
and followed the directions.”
Chelsea Cochran, a University
senior, said she is an A student.
She agrees with Lesyk’s views
about why women have recently
been gaining academic success.
“Women are now more accepted
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in the workplace,” Cochran said,
"They used to only see them
selves as wives and homemakers,
but now they know they can do
more. By working hard, they can
be anything they want to be.”
Jonas Allen is a junior who has
consistently maintained a 4.0
GPA while at the University. He
said he hadn't noticed whether
women or men receive higher
grades. However, he does have a
theory on the subject.
“1 think guys tend to devote
their energies to sports while girls
engage in academic-oriented ac
tivities,” Allen said. “For myself,
I’ve been motivated to get good
grades because I’ve always been
pushed to do so. I went to a pri
vate high school when I was
younger, and good grades were
expected.”
Allen said he also works for
academic excellence because he
wants to have a successful future.
“I had taken a year off from col
lege after high school,” Allen said.
“During that time, I realized I did
n’t want to be flipping burgers for
the rest of my life. I came back to
school with increased motivation.”
Laurene Larson, a senior coun
selor at South Eugene High
School, finds the Profile of Stu
dents statistic hard to believe. She
said South’s graduating class con
sists of an equal number of men
and women who have an out
standing academic standing.
“I find the statistic to be very
surprising,” Larson said. “It does
n’t corroborate with what I see at
South.”
Diana Vranas, a counselor at
North Eugene High School, said
she has seen a difference in grade
performance where she works.
Unlike the students at South, nine
out of ten seniors at North who
score in the top 5% of the class are
women.
“I don’t know why this trend is
taking place,” Vranas said. “How
ever, grades by themselves don’t
mean that much to me. The quali
ty of the courses and their difficul
ty also needs to be taken into con
sideration.”
Despite the grade gaps between
men and women, Steve Stolp, an
associate director of the Office of
Academic Advising, said he be
lieves anyone can receive good
grades with hard work and deter
mination.
Who makes the grade?
Profile of entering students with a 4.0 GPA
More women than men have been entering the University with 4.0 GPAs. The trend
shows no signs of discontinuing and reasons for it remain unknown.
1996
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45 50
[1997
male: 25
female: 45
SOURCE: Fall Fourth Week Statistical Files from 1995,1996,1997.1998
Average GPAs by class level and sex
Even after entering the University, women continue to earn better grades than men.
However, the gap between the grades is smaller durring the college years.
Grade point average
1.75 2.0I 2.25 2.5
1996
freshmen mates: 2.60
freshmen females: 2.83
sophomore males: 2.77
sophomore females: 3.02
junior males: 2.88
junior females: 3.03
senior males: 2.97
senior females: 3.15
1997
freshmen males: 2.68
freshmen females: 2 86
soohomore males: 2.85
sophomore females: 3.03
junior males: 2.89
junior females: 3.12
senior males: 2.99
senior females: 3.18
2.75
3.0
3.25
B
1998
freshmen males: 2.62
freshmen females: 2.86
sophomore males: 2.80
sophomore females: 2.98
junior males: 2.86
junior females: 3.03
senior males: 2.96
senior females: 3.18
SOURCE: University Resource Management Office
Ifc
3.5
3.75 4.0
©regori#j£meralij
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