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2. Science: about the same percentage of boys and  girls take biology and chemistry. Significantly more boys than girls take physics.

3. When students have the opportunity to make choices, differences in course selection begin to appear.

• Need to examine high school science curriculum. An integrated curriculum may offer opportunities for improvement.

4. Note that the number of students in algebra/geometry may not tell the whole story: girls may be more likely to be put into "pre-algebra" first, or advised to algebra 1 later, or put into "precalculus", rather than calculus. Each of these may in some way disadvantage the student later. (That is, who gets to take algebra 1 when can be a method of discrimination)

5. Overall, beginning after chemistry, girls take fewer science courses that boys. They don't drop out of these classes; they simply choose not to take them.

6. Similarly, of the high school students who are well-qualified to major in some area of science, math, or engineering in college, a much higher percentage of girls choose not to. The transition from h.s. to college is apparently a critical one: in a (1985) OTA study, this was found to be one of the points of steepest decline.

• A related study is the analysis of which undergraduates change majors, and why they change. [Seymour and Hewitt].

7. At many schools, algebra 1 has become a "filter, not an opportunity.

• Change this view(in teachers and schools) to a view that everyone needs these math courses (up to calculus)

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Achievement.