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Richard Whitmire Handout Enlarge Handout The book cover. "Boys are failing because the world has gotten more verbal, and they haven't," says Whitmire. As colleges nationwide review freshman applications over the next several weeks, many will face lopsided numbers of male and female candidates. Some colleges maintain a gender balance, but national data in recent years show a 57%-43% split favoring women, both in enrollments and graduation rates. Richard Whitmire, author of Why Boys Fail and a former USA TODAY editorial writer, talks to reporter Mary Beth Marklein about how we got there, why we should care, and what should be done about it. Q: Why do boys fail, and how do we turn that around? A: The reforms launched by the nation's governors more than 20 years ago to get more students college-ready had an unintended consequence: Most girls adjusted nicely to the intensified verbal skills demanded in the early grades; most boys didn't. We have to figure out a way to keep boys on track with reading and writing skills. Boys are failing because the world has gotten more verbal and they haven't. Q&A: Michael Gurian says boys need societal nurturing, too COLLEGE: Gender gap steady at 57% women K-12: Few teachers are black men Q: The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is investigating whethercolleges discriminate against girlsby giving boys a break in admissions, but you support affirmative action for male students for "just a little longer." How long is that? A: I would like to get (college graduation rates) at a 55-45 split. We need to wait until corrections are made in elementary and high school that put boys on a better path toward college readiness. Improving verbal skills would be 90% of that task. The first measurement of success would be a drop in the number of boys in the ninth-grade "bulge" — the boys held back for another year because they are not prepared to start high school. Q: Some data suggest minority and low-income boys are struggling the most. Are white boys from middle- or upper-income families not in crisis? A: You can't look at the "affirmative action" in admissions for white males practiced at some elite private colleges and conclude there's no problem among middle-class white males. Black and Latino boys have the flu; white middle-class boys have a mild cold. Q: There are economic consequences for men who don't pursue college, but you cite social implications as well. A: The most striking was at James Madison University (where the ratio was about 60% female, 40% male). Some women there (said) it was not uncommon to see these parties where girls would get into this bizarre competition to win a guy who maybe even wasn't worth winning. And these guys were total players. The minority sex sets the rules, animal house rules, and these women would do very demeaning things just for the competition. They'd be embarrassed about that (but) they'd do it anyway. I'm really glad my daughters went to colleges where the genders were evenly balanced. But if I had a son, I wouldn't want him to develop these warped relationships, either. The marriageable-mate dilemma, whether white women decide to "marry down" to less-educated males, will be a long-term impact of these gender gaps, and probably the biggest impact. Black women have long faced the marriageable-mate dilemma, and college-educated black women have low marriage rates and high out-of-wedlock birth rates. The question is whether more white women will start making similar choices. Q: Do you worry, as some argue, that gains made by women come at the expense of men? A: I do not think the gains of girls have come at the expense of boys. And interventions aimed at boys will not hurt girls — contrary to the fears of feminist groups. Q: You want the U.S. Education Department to take action. How? A: Many other countries have the same problems. The Education Department should do what the Australians did more than seven years ago, which was launch a national investigation into why boys are losing interest in school. Next, it needs to correct the mistake made in 2006, which was authorizing single-sex public schools but not offering school districts research on how to do it. Australia has not solved the problem, but at least they've created an intelligence pathway for schools interested in working on the gender gaps. Q: How can a parent of a boy help him, here and now? A: Don't believe your teacher when they say boys start out slowly but will catch up. That used to be true, but it's not now. Parents need to have a more liberal attitude about literacy. If your young son likes "goofy" books such as Captain Underpants, that's OK. Just keep him reading. The largest gender gaps are found in writing skills. Schools may overlook that — part of the 'boys will be boys' attitude — which means parents have to compensate. Writing matters. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more