The Gender Grade Gap for High School Graduates

The U.S. Department of Education recently issued a report on the academic credentials of students who graduated from high school in 2009. The data showed that female graduates had a mean grade point average of 3.10. For males graduating from high school that year, the mean grade point average was 2.90.

Average high school grades have increased over the past 20 years but the gender gap has remained relatively constant since 1990. That year, the mean grade point average for female graduates was 2.77. The figure for males was 2.59. In 2000, the mean grade point average for female high school graduates was 3.05 compared to a 2.83 mean GPA for male graduates.