Eight years ago Barbara and Allan Pease wrote the following: "The education system favors boys and disadvantages girls in mathematical exams because studies show that girls suffering PMS have testosterone levels that are significantly lower during this phase. One study showed that girls with PMS scored 14 percent lower on mathematical exams when they had PMS than girls who weren't suffering PMS. A fairer system would be to arrange exams to take place at a time that is biologically more suitable for girls. Boys can take the tests at any time."
I was disturbed by this finding. Could it be that in our push for equality, we've ended up supporting a system that penalizes us for a biological difference? All I know is that I sure wish I'd read their book, Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps, when it was first published. As the mother of two daughters in college, think of the advantage such a simple fact might have provided them during their punishing two years of standardized test taking. And for those of you with daughters taking the SATs, it might behoove you to focus on the test date a little bit more intimately.
Don't you think this is something our educators should discuss?