In 1990, boys scored a mean of 429 on the verbal part, as against 419 for women.

Educators and others give many theories about why boys score higher on tests.

Later we learned that a boy in jeans and a sport coat had scored some celebratory sensimilla.

In the early primary years, girls and boys score evenly on achievement tests.

Figures show that across both reception and year six children, boys scored higher for being overweight than girls.

Ms. Wolfe said the changes overcompensated for the difference, which is why boys now score higher.

But boys and girls scored similarly on the math test.

The girls did great with an end score of 78, more than doubling the boys score.

On average, the boys scored high on both scales.

Since 1972 boys have consistently scored higher than girls on both sections.