followed with less emphasis on maths and more on writing and reading, while the department also boosted publicity for the test on social media and newsletters.The changes also aimed to make the exam more difficult and less coachable after concerns parents were forking outBut reforms have failed to lift applications from girls, with female students making up 46 per cent of total applicants for next year, down from about 47.6 per cent the year the review was released.
He said major tutoring centres often had more boys enrolled for coaching, while he believes families with girls may steer away from selective schools if “they feel that level of competition is not what parents think is healthy for them”.But the data also shows that the overall offers to girls has increased in the past six years from about 42 to 44 per cent.
Last month, the department released its first round of 4240 offers for next year with about 1790 offers going to girls, down from about 1840 last year. “Selective schools are good at academics, but I don’t think students focus as much on other activities. I want to be able to spend lots of time doing sport, drawing and art. I love reading, playing badminton and swimming. I want to have a challenging experience at school, and I also want to meet new friends,” she said.
Melinda Gindy, president of the Australian Association for the Education of the Gifted and Talented , said more research was needed to understand why selective schools have a gender imbalance. Associate Professor Christina Ho, from the University of Technology Sydney, said with the model of external tutoring that is common in NSW, students are accelerated so that they are covering materials sometimes a year ahead of the school curriculum.