VOA慢速：美国男孩高中毕业率低于女孩
US Boys Graduate High School at Lower Rates Than Girls
刘立军 供稿
TRANSCRIPT
The U.S. government does not require states to report graduation rates by a student’s sex. But in every state reporting high school graduation rates by gender, research shows female students graduate at higher rates than male students.
A report from the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., found that, in 37 states reporting the data, more than 45,000 fewer boys than girls graduated high school in 2018.
Richard Reeves was one of the writers of the report from 2021. He said that about 88 percent of girls graduated on time compared with 82 percent of boys that year. A follow-up study in 2021 found the difference in graduation between girls and boys in 28 states was six percent. This difference is not just limited to the United States.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) measures education data in many countries. Among 38 member countries, including most of North America, South America and Europe, more girls graduate high school than boys.
In 2020, the average graduation rate for girls in OECD countries was 86 percent for girls, but 79 percent for boys. Just two countries that provided data to OECD, the Czech Republic and South Korea, had a higher graduation rate for boys.
OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) measures student knowledge and skills in mathematics, reading, and science at age 15. Eighty-five countries take PISA. OECD information shows that girls mostly perform better in reading than boys. Boys perform better in science and math.
The difference between graduation rates for girls and boys in the U.S. is being called a “gender gap.” Few people talk about it and reports suggest that schools have done little to deal with the issue. But some schools have found ways to fight it.
The city of Yonkers, New York, raised graduation rates for minority boys through support such as mentoring. Former Superintendent Edwin Quezada said dealing with the difference between races in graduation rates was useful toward understanding the gender gap, which was seven percentage points in 2022.
Boys are sent to special education at higher rates than girls in early grades and are suspended at higher rates throughout school. That can all result in not graduating on time, Quezada said.
Schools in the city of Buffalo, New York, have included efforts from My Brother’s Keeper. That was the program started by former President Barack Obama to help boys succeed in school. Buffalo also has provided mentoring to male students and hired more men to teach, spokesman Jeffrey Hammond said. Still, the urban school district reported a 10-percentage-point difference between female and male graduation rates in 2022 and an 11-point gap in 2021.
“Girls nationally succeed in school over boys because they are more apt to plan ahead (and) set academic goals,” Hammond wrote in an email. He said girls receive fewer school suspensions, showing they are more likely to follow rules and receive more instruction from teachers.
Only 10 states that report graduation rates by gender also measure it by race. That makes it difficult to understand how race influences the graduation gender gap. But Reeves found some important differences in his latest study in the five largest states that do report graduation by race. He found that the difference between the graduation rate of Black girls and Black boys was much larger than the difference between white girls and white boys or Asian girls and Asian boys.
This year, Reeves left the Brookings Institution to start the American Institute for Boys and Men. It is a nonprofit group that says it aims to improve men’s lives.
The graduation gap is also linked to what observers call a success gap between students from wealthy and poor families. But the reasons for the difference between boys and girls are not clear.
Discussions with students, educators and researchers point to several influences. Men can earn the same pay as women with less education. But boys also are more likely to be suspended or face other forms of discipline and punishment. And they do not seek treatment as often as girls do when they face mental health problems.
Some boys are fine when they first drop out of school, finding jobs with good pay. But over the long term, not graduating from high school can hold men back. Studies show young men who drop out of high school earn less money over their lifetimes and are more likely to end up in jail.
In some cases, boys are not as interested in graduating as girls because they have not needed a high school degree to pay for rent and food, said Beth Jarosz. She is with the nonprofit research organization PRB. A man without a high school diploma often earns as much as a woman who has completed a year or two of college, she said.
I’m Dan Novak.
And I’m Gena Bennett.
VOCABULARY
1. mentor v. 指导，辅导
2. superintendent n. 监督人，管理人，校长
3. Buffalo n.（美国）布法罗（纽约州第二大城市）
4. apt adj. 恰当的，倾向于
QUESTIONS
Listen to the news and choose the best answer to each question you hear.
1. Which two countries reported to OECD had a higher graduation rate for boys than girls?
A. The United States and South Korea.
B. The Czech Republic and South Korea.
C. The Czech Republic and the United States.
D. France and Germany.
2. According to Richard Reeves’ report, what was the percentage point difference in graduation rates between girls and boys in 2021 across 28 states?
A. 6 percent.
B. 7 percent.
C. 10 percent.
D. 11 percent.
3. What initiative did the city of Yonkers undertake to address the gender gap in high school graduation rates for minority boys?
A. Increased funding for schools.
B. Implementation of a new curriculum.
C. Support programs such as mentoring.
D. Gender-specific learning environments.
4. What significant observation did Richard Reeves make concerning the graduation rates when they were measured by both gender and race?
A. Minority boys graduated at the same rate as girls.
B. Schools effectively closed the gender gap among all races.
C. The graduation gender gap varied significantly among different racial groups.
D. Gender was not a significant factor in graduation rates when race was considered.
5. Based on the text, why are schools facing challenges in comprehending how race influences the graduation gender gap?
A. Only a small number of schools are willing to report graduation rates by race.
B. There is a lack of standardized tests to measure the influence of race on graduation rates.
C. Too many variables are involved in analyzing the influence of race on graduation.
D. Not many states report graduation rates by both gender and race.
KEY
1. Which two countries reported to OECD had a higher graduation rate for boys than girls?
A. The United States and South Korea.
B. The Czech Republic and South Korea.
C. The Czech Republic and the United States.
D. France and Germany.
【答案】B
【解析】细节题。命题出处在文本中关于OECD国家毕业率的描述：Just two countries that provided data to OECD, the Czech Republic and South Korea, had a higher graduation rate for boys. 这句话明确指出只有捷克共和国和韩国报告给OECD的数据显示男孩的毕业率高于女孩，因此正确答案是B。
2. According to Richard Reeves’ report, what was the percentage point difference in graduation rates between girls and boys in 2021 across 28 states?
A. 6 percent.
B. 7 percent.
C. 10 percent.
D. 11 percent.
【答案】A
【解析】细节题。命题出处在文本中Richard Reeves的报告提及的比率：A follow-up study in 2021 found the difference in graduation between girls and boys in 28 states was six percent.” 根据这里的信息，2021年的跟进研究发现28个州女孩和男孩之间的毕业差异为六个百分点，因此正确答案是A。
3. What initiative did the city of Yonkers undertake to address the gender gap in high school graduation rates for minority boys?
A. Increased funding for schools.
B. Implementation of a new curriculum.
C. Support programs such as mentoring.
D. Gender-specific learning environments.
【答案】C
【解析】细节题。命题出处在文本中提及纽约杨克斯市采取的措施：The city of Yonkers, New York, raised graduation rates for minority boys through support such as mentoring. 这表示杨克斯市通过启动辅导等支持项目来解决少数族裔男孩在高中毕业率上的性别差距问题，因此正确答案是C。
4. What significant observation did Richard Reeves make concerning the graduation rates when they were measured by both gender and race?
A. Minority boys graduated at the same rate as girls.
B. Schools effectively closed the gender gap among all races.
C. The graduation gender gap varied significantly among different racial groups.
D. Gender was not a significant factor in graduation rates when race was considered.
【答案】C
【解析】推理题。命题出处在文本中提到的Richard Reeves对性别和种族的观察：But Reeves found some important differences in his latest study in the five largest states that do report graduation by race. He found that the difference between the graduation rate of Black girls and Black boys was much larger than the difference between white girls and white boys or Asian girls and Asian boys.” Reeves发现，在按性别和种族报告毕业率的五个最大的州中，黑人女孩与黑人男孩之间的毕业率差异要比白人或亚裔的男女差异大得多。这表明毕业性别差距在不同种族群体间存在显著变化，因此正确答案是C。
5. Based on the text, why are schools facing challenges in comprehending how race influences the graduation gender gap?
A. Only a small number of schools are willing to report graduation rates by race.
B. There is a lack of standardized tests to measure the influence of race on graduation rates.
C. Too many variables are involved in analyzing the influence of race on graduation.
D. Not many states report graduation rates by both gender and race.
【答案】D
【解析】细节题。命题出处在文本中提及关于报告毕业率的难点：Only 10 states that report graduation rates by gender also measure it by race. 这句话清楚地说明，仅有10个州同时按性别和种族报告毕业率，这使得理解种族如何影响性别差距变得困难，因此正确答案是D。
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