By the time boys are 15, they are more than twice as likely than girls to express the sentiment that “school is a waste of time.” And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
By most measures, boys have become increasingly disenchanted with school. Compared to their female classmates, boys overall get punished more, take on fewer leadership roles, and are less likely to finish high school on time. There are many potential reasons for this gender divide, but experts point to one overarching factor: The traditional school day is not aligned with how boys learn best.
“When almost 1 in 4 boys is categorized as having a developmental disability, it is fair to wonder if it is the educational institutions, rather than the boys, that are not functioning properly,” wrote Richard V. Reeves in his landmark 2022 book, Of Boys and Men.
Across the country, educators and policymakers are starting to make changes to the school day to better serve students and their teachers. Many of those changes align with what research shows is best for the academic and social development of boys in particular: more movement, more hands-on learning opportunities, more choice and agency, and stronger student-teacher relationships.
For example, New Hampshire in 2018 enacted a law that play and exploration—not rigid schedules and heavy curricula—be central to public school kindergartens. Delaware recently instituted a robust redesign of its public schools’ high school curriculum, boosting career-oriented coursework and experiential learning opportunities within several high-demand industries.
At the school or district level, change can be slow, stymied by insufficient funding and resources, entrenched systems of operation, or pushback from teachers, staff, and parents. But some schools are making positive changes for students a priority—and those newer norms are making boys more eager to get to school.
Education Week visited four schools last fall—the kindergarten of a public elementary school in New Hampshire, a progressive charter middle school in Charlottesville, Va., a traditional public high school in rural Delaware, and a private boys’ school in Baltimore. Each school recently implemented research-informed changes—from relatively “low lifts” to complete reimaginings of the school day.
Though the schools’ settings and student populations vary, they share one common feature: Educators at each school have kept students’ well-being and engagement at the center of their decision-making process.
Not all of these changes were made to benefit boys specifically. But by encouraging student agency, linking learning to real-world applications, finding ways to incorporate movement into a packed schedule, and otherwise prioritizing students’ needs, each school has found that boys are more motivated to come to school and learn.
