Getting Girls De-Stereotyped for SAT Exams

Dear Ellen and Minha :
I am interested by your journal article, "Altermatt, Ellen Rydell, and Minha Esther Kim. "Getting Girls De-Stereotyped For SAT Exams." Education Digest 70.1 (2004): 43-47. Academic Search Premier. Web. 8 Mar. 2012." because one sentence you wrote that stands out for me is: "A second theory is that females are more concerned than males with pleasing others, including their parents, elementary and secondary school teachers, and school counselors.

As a result, females may be more likely than males to approach college entrance exams with the dual pressures of wanting to do well to increase their chances of admission to their chosen college and not wanting to disappoint significant others” I think this is interesting because girls worry about a lot when taking the test because they want to impress their parents and others.

I think this is true because I strive to do well in school because my are are big part of my motivation in school. I ‘m constantly trying to please them with my grades on test and report cards. Sometimes, that makes me a little more worried about my grades, while the guys wouldn’t be as worried as me and the rest of girls in the class.

Another sentence that I liked was: "In particular, females may be focusing so much attention on their negative thoughts about the test and their fears that they may not succeed, that little energy is left for focusing on the test itself." This stood out for me because your journal article reminds me of something that happened to me because I was worrying so much about one of my Regents exams that I was almost completely side tracked by my negative thoughts. Especially the fear of getting a bad grade and not being able to pass the test. Luckily, I was able to quickly get over that fear and complete the test. I was glad because when the results came out I got a really good grade. If I had spent more time worrying and fearing, then I might’ve not scored as well.

Thanks for your writing. I look forward to seeing what you write next, because I’m actually really intrigued by articles with research about students, school, and exams and their connections to one another because I feel like I could relate to them.