Upfront QUIZ 1.

• Position: Quiz on sex differences in education and employment - Brief Article

FILL IN THE BLANK: Write the answer that best completes each statement.

1. Less than a decade ago, educators warned that schools were shortchanging girls. -- and -- were identified as two subjects in which girls lagged behind boys.

2. A discipline crackdown aimed largely at boys resulted from school -- that killed and wounded many students in schools across the country.

3. Because of concern about girls' low self-esteem, a national program called -- was established to help girls understand that women hold important jobs.

4. Two skills in which girls have long outperformed boys are -- and --.

5. The share of students in -- schools who were female rose from 39 percent in 1970 to 56 percent in 1996.

6. The gap in academic achievement between males and females is widest in poor, -- communities.

7. Title IX of the -- of 1972 makes it illegal for schools and other educational programs that receive federal funds to discriminate on the basis of gender.

9. Before the passage of Title IX, fewer than 300,000 high school girls played competitive sports. Today, that number has risen to an estimated -- girls.

9. Men's median weekly earnings are -- a week higher than women's.

10. Men hold -- percent of executive positions in Fortune 500 companies, the biggest companies in the United States.

    CRITICAL THINKING: Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

11. The Title IX federal law barring gender discrimination in sports was actually part of the Education Amendments of 1972 and not originally included in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed racial discrimination in public accommodations. Why do you think the authors of the 1964 Act failed to include gender discrimination in the civil rights law?

12. Students of both sexes interviewed for this article say that girls in their schools generally take their studies more seriously and work harder than do boys. Do you believe this is true in your school? If so, what do you think accounts for the different approaches boys and girls take?

13. Many experts say low self-esteem can lead to poor performance in school. How would you define self-esteem?

14. In a few cities, school...