Getting Our Girls Ready for the 21 Century Letter

NCWGE National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education

May 2, 2001

Dear Representative:

The National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education (NCWGE), a nonprofit organization of more than 50 organizations committed to improving educational equity for women and girls, urges you to support Rep. Lynn Woolsey's Getting Our Girls Ready for the 21^st Century amendment to the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. NCWGE believes that it is critical to promote educational equity for girls in areas such as science, mathematics, engineering and technology.

The Getting Our Girls Ready for the 21^st Century amendment provides grants to elementary and secondary schools to encourage increased participation of girls in science, mathematics, and technology and to prepare them to pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees and careers in these areas. Girls face an alarming new gender gap in technology that must be affirmatively addressed. For example:

According to a study of students taking the 1996 SAT, female students were less likely to have experience using computers to solve mathematic problems, but were more likely to have used a computer for word processing,.

Girls comprised only 37% of students enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) computer science across the nation, with twelve states enrolling girls at less than 20%, according to the Department of Education's estimates for 1997.

Nationwide, in 2000, girls were less than 17% of those who took the introductory-level AP computer science exam, and less than 11% of those who took the advanced computer science exam.

In higher education, women earn only about one-third of the bachelor's degrees in mathematical and computer sciences.

We urge you to support Rep. Woolsey's amendment to ensure that all students are equipped to succeed in the 21^st century. If you have any questions, please call me at the National Women's Law Center at 202-588-5180.

Sincerely,

Leslie T. Annexstein

Chair, NCWGE