READING PASSAGE 1:
The gender gap in New Zealand's
high school examination results
Results from New Zealand's new national examinations for secondary schools are
giving that country some cause for concern.
A
The issue is the difference in pass rates between the sexes: at each level of
the examination and across all school types, the difference is about 10
percentage points. Girls are doing better in every subject, and those in
girls-only schools are taking top honours. The results are not a surprise: high
school girls have been outperforming boys academically for more than a decade.
It is an international phenomenon, and within Australia, it was the subject of
much debate and controversy. Within New Zealand back in the 1980s, there was a
concerted campaign, called "Girls Can Do Anything," which was aimed
at lifting girls' participation rates, achievement levels, and aspirations.
This was so successful that the pendulum has now swung to the other extreme.
Views differ on how worried people should be. After all, for much of history,
girls were excluded from any form of education, and this new phenomenon could
be seen as a temporary over-correction before the balance is righted.
B
However, the New
Zealand State Ministry of Education says it is taking the issue seriously. It
is working with a reference group on boys' education, which has been set up,
and it has commissioned an Australian academic to report on interventions that
have been found to work for boys, drawing particularly on Australia's
experience. But some, such as former prison manager Celia Lashlie, the author
of a book for parents of teenage boys, believe there is still resistance within
the Education Ministry towards doing anything about the problem.
C
Education Ministry
learning policy manager Steve Benson says that the National Certificate in
Educational Achievement, or NCEA, as New Zealand's high school exams are
called, is useful to employers and to universities because it provides a
fine-grained picture of pupils' performance in every aspect of a subject,
rather than just a pass or fail in an overall area. In most parts of the
curriculum, for example in maths, there isn't really a gender gap. But literacy
is a different matter. Even boys who are good at writing tend not to write so
much. There's actually a quantity issue.
D
The discrepancy in
reading and writing skills between males and females shows up as early as
preschool, and the most significant difference is clear by the time these
children enter high school. Not being good at literacy was not such a problem
in the old days when many students left school for manual jobs after Year 11.
But nowadays, many more stay on to higher education, and almost all jobs
require literacy skills. Roger Moses, the headmaster of Wellington College,
says that the written content of NCEA papers is more demanding than the
previous system of secondary school qualifications in New Zealand, even in
subjects such as statistics and accounting.
E
New Zealand
15-year-olds do better in international reading tests, but beneath this average
lies a wide variance, with New Zealand European girls most represented at the
top and New Zealand Pacific Island boys at the bottom. Yet some European girls
drop out, and some Pacific Island boys excel. In other words, the range in
performance within each gender group is much greater than the gender
differences. Ethnic differences, and differences in socio-economic status, may
be more significant than the simple boy/girl explanation.
F
This makes the
Education Ministry nervous about pushing solutions that emphasize stereotyped
gender differences, rather than looking at underachievement as a whole. Rob
Burroughs, principal of Linwood High School in Christchurch, agrees. For three
years, his school ran separate boys' classes to try to address the disparity in
performance, before abandoning them. The research showed that the boys did
better in their own class than in the co-educational environment. But when he
looked at which teachers they had, and how well those teachers' other classes
did, it became clear that the difference was, instead, to do with the quality
of instruction.
G
At Onslow College,
Dr. Stuart Martin would do away with the NCEA Level 1 exam if he could. He says
that in Year 11, aged 15, boys are simply not mature enough to cope. They tend
to think that just passing is enough, and that it's not necessary to work hard
for a Merit or an Excellence grade. Often they are busy with other activities
and part-time jobs. Boys' competitive instinct tends to come out later in their
schooling years, especially if there is money attached or other tangible
rewards. By 17, boys are catching up academically with the girls, and by the
end of Year 13, boys are again winningthe top prizes.
Questions 14 - 16:
Complete the
summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 14-16 on your answer sheet.
High school
assessment in New Zealand
New Zealanders
are worried at the outcomes of their high school assessment system, because the
14__________ of girls are
higher than those of boys by 10%. A gender gap has been apparent for over a 15_________. This situation
is not unique to New Zealand, and has been noticed in 16__________ also.
Questions 17 - 20:
Reading Passage
2 has eight paragraphs, A-H.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 17-20 on your answer sheet.
1.
An advantage of
New Zealand’s secondary school tests
2.
A mention of
current government initiatives to boost male achievement
3.
When gender
difference in literacy skills first becomes evident
4.
Findings that
relate academic achievement to race
Questions 21 - 26:
Look at the
following people (Questions 21-26) and the list of statements below.
Match each person with the correct statement, A-H.
Write the correct letter, A-H, in boxes 21-26 on your answer sheet.
·
Celia Lashlie
·
Steve Benson
·
Roger Moses
·
Rob Burroughs
·
Stuart Martin
·
PaulBaker
List of Statements:
A. Boys gain
lower marks on NCEA if they attend an all-boys' school.
B. Boys are disadvantaged by girls tending to take over at school.
C. Good teaching is more important than whether classrooms are single-sex or
mixed.
D. Mathematical skills were not so important in the past.
E. The difference in achievement between school boys and girls is only evident
in some subjects.
F. Older boys are more motivated to study than younger boys.
G. The NCEA exams have higher literacy standards than past exams did.
H. The New Zealand government is reluctant to take action on behalf of boys.
ANSWERS:
1.
Points
2.
Decade
3.
Australia
4.
C
5.
B
6.
D
7.
H
8.
H
9.
AND
10.G
11.C
12.F
13.B
PASSWORD: 17MAY2025
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