As we put together this and last week’s issues of The Hardwick Gazette, with graduation photos from around the area, we found it curious that the number of young men graduating seems lower than the number of young women. Notwithstanding the issue of gender fluidity, it seems an interesting question to look into.
While Vermont overall has a high high school graduation rate, some data suggests that boys graduate at lower rates than girls. A study found 88 percent of girls graduated on time compared to 82 percent of boys, according to The Hechinger Report.
Beyond that, there’s a significant difference in the percentage of male and female high school seniors planning to pursue higher education immediately after graduation, with more females expressing the intention. For instance, a 2018 study cited by the Vermont Student Assistance Corp. (VSAC) showed that 83% of female seniors aspired to college compared to 68% of males.
That VSAC study found other interesting facts. Over a decade before 2018, there was a significant decline in the aspiration rate among second-generation male high school seniors, widening the gender gap in plans to pursue post-secondary education and training.
Students report their parents’ post-secondary aspirations for them are shifting away from education and the gender gap in post-secondary enrollment is wider in Vermont than in the U.S. as a whole.
There are significant differences in academic preparation by gender and parent education attainment; those are in turn related to aspiration and enrollment outcomes.
Lastly, there are continuing regional differences in post-secondary aspiration and enrollment throughout the state.
Enrollment rates also varied significantly by academic preparation. Only one in four students who did not complete Algebra II enrolled in the fall of 2018. Students who completed Algebra II and took additional math courses had the highest enrollment rate of 78 percent.
There’s some indication that anti-intellectualism, a disposition that distrusts and devalues intellectual pursuits, intellectuals, and intellectualism, may have something to do with this trend. Anti-intellectualism often manifests as a skepticism or hostility towards education, scholarship, and expertise, particularly in fields like science, the arts and humanities. Anti-intellectualism can lead to a preference for common-sense approaches, a distrust of experts, and a resistance to engaging with complex ideas or evidence-based solutions.
And, it most certainly would steer students away from academic pursuits.
Hazen Union School data for the Class of 2024 show 30 percent attended college and 65 percent joined the workforce, while five percent attended a technical program of less than two years and no graduates joined the military. No data on the gender of graduates was available on short notice.
This will make a good future project for our reporters.
Paul Fixx, editor
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
