Math Extra Credit..2

Girls like writing and reading; boys like math and science. At least that's the stereotype. Suprisingly, a new survey shows that girls in elementary school actually like math and science better than language arts!

Researchers at the University of Miami in Ohio surveyed nearly 2,000 girls in grades 4 through 8 at public and private schools and had them rate their enjoyment of four subjects, science, math, language arts and social studies, on a scale of 1 (strongly dislike) to 5 (really like).



Fourth-grade girls clearly liked science the best; their average enjoyment levels were:

4.11 for science
3.85 for math
3.5 for language arts
3.49 for social studies
As girls get older though, they seem to like science and math less, with science's average likeability score falling to 3.29 for girls in 8th grade.

But these subjects aren't alone, as girls seemed to lose a little interest in every subject. Likeability for social studies fell to 2.91 for 8th graders.


Just why girls lose interest in all these subjects is something researchers haven't worked out. But the good news, they say, is that girls regain some of their interest in science in college.

As an eight grader, I actually gained more interest in Language and Literature. Those are among my best subjects and I want to be involved with them as I become older.