Since gender bias is not a noisy problem, most people are frequently unaware of the secret sexist lessons and the quiet losses they engender. Sitting in the same classrooms, reading the same textbooks, listening to the same teachers, boys and girls receive very different educations. Regardless of racial, ethnic or class backgrounds, girls are often consistently, if unintentionally, shortchanged. Female students are more likely to be invisible members of the classroom. Teachers interact with males more frequently, ask them better questions, and give them more precise and helpful feedback. Over the course of years, the uneven distribution of teacher time, energy, attention, and talent takes its toll on girls. The problems they face--loss of self-esteem, decline in achievement and elimination of career options--are at the heart of the educational process. Yet, gender bias is a two-edged sword. Girls are shortchanged, but males pay a price as well.

To all the world boys appear to be the favored gender, heir apparent to society's rewards. They are the recipients of the lion's share of teacher time and attention and the featured figures in most textbooks. Sitting atop high standardized test scores, they haul in the majority of scholarship dollars, claim more than half of the openings in the most prestigious colleges, and are destined for high salaries and honored professions. Sometimes this extra attention is welcome, sometimes boys find the spotlight uncomfortable.

While boys rise to the top of the class, they also land at the bottom. Labeled as problems in need of special control or assistance, boys are more likely to fail a course, miss promotion, or drop out of school. Prone to take risks, they jeopardize not only their academic futures but also their lives as they dominate accident, suicide, and homicide statistics. In fact, because the educational failures of boys are so visible and public, schools invest extra resources on their behalf. Girls suffer silent losses, but boys' problems are loud enough to be heard throughout the school.

Clearly sexism is not a "girls' only" issue. Until educational sexism is eradicated, all children will be shortchanged and their gifts lost to society. The following pages present recent gender statistics in education, an overview of Title IX (the legal arm of gender equity), ideas for gender-fair instruction and curriculum, and an interactive equity assessment tool to "grade" your school.