No gender difference in homeschooling....

Found via reddit. Perhaps good to keep in mind. Now I am not advocating for home schooling, I am merely wondering why there is no gender difference in home schooling, yet there is in *uhm* non-home-schooling. The study:

Scholastic Achievement and Demographic Characteristics of Home School Students in 1998, M. Rudner

In 1998, Home School Legal Defense Association commissioned the largest research study to date of home education in America. Conducted by Dr. Lawrence Rudner of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation, the study involved seven times as many home schooling families as any previous study of its kind. The data were compiled from the achievement test scores of 20,760 students in 11,930 families, along with background questionnaires submitted by the families.

Unlike any previous study, families chose to participate before they knew their children’s test scores. Thus, the possibility of reporting higher scores while leaving lower scores unreported was considerably diminished. Another factor that sets the Rudner study apart is the fact that all students took the same tests: the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) for grades K–8, and the Tests of Achievement and Proficiency (TAP) for grades 9–12, both published by the Riverside Publishing Company. Furthermore, this research, conducted by an impartial third party whose own children are enrolled in public school, avoids the criticism of pro-home school bias leveled against previous studies, which were conducted by proponents of home education.

Results:

Home school students do exceptionally well when compared with the nationwide average. In every subject and at every grade level of the ITBS and TAP batteries, home school students scored significantly higher than their public and private school counterparts. [...] No meaningful difference was found among home school students when classified by gender.

Composite Percentile Score:
- 4th grade home schoolers: girls: 80 boys: 80
- 8th grade home schoolers: girls: 79 boys: 80