Statistics from the Victorian H.S.C. Examination over the period 1944 to 1974 reveal consistent trends in the relative numbers of boys and girls remaining at school for the full six years of secondary education and qualifying for entrance to tertiary institutions. Coupled with this there have been trends in the relative popularity of individual subjects and of the combinations of subjects taken by large numbers of boys and girls. These trends in relative success rates and in subjects studied by the two sexes cast serious doubt on the adequacy of the “female disadvantage model” as a guide to action. Predictions derived from this model and an alternative “interdependent sub-cultures model” are examined in the light of the statistical data. The predictions of the latter model are found to conform more closely with the available data. It is suggested that, before any further commitment is made to large scale programs based on “disadvantage models”, there should be careful consideration of possible alternatives.
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