Gender Differences and High Attainment

Recent emphasis on raising attainment has focused attention onto the ‘gender gap’ in school attainment levels. Using data from the Scottish School Leavers Survey, the article examines factors related to high attainment and asks whether these differ for males and females. A strong relationship is established between social advantage and high attainment within each gender. There is no evidence of differential progression rates for males and females between the ages of 16 and 18. The only factor which offers any explanation for gender differences in attainment is the evidence that girls took school more seriously than boys. This supports theories that girls and boys experience different peer pressures which influence their school attainment. Other factors have also been shown to influence gender differences in performance in the research literature. Factors affecting gender differences were found equally in all schools, suggesting that wider cultural factors are also influential in creating gender differences.