9353582 Lee As students progress through the educational pipeline from elementary and high school, into college and graduate school, the proportionate representation of females interested in studying science or pursuing it as a career declines sharply. While it is reasonable that the group who persists in science becomes increasingly selective academically at points further along the pipeline, the fact that this "select" group contains so few young women is more difficult to explain. The study aims to develop an educational (rather than an individual choice) explanation for this phenomenon. Using data from the current, large, and nationally representative National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), preliminary investigation reveals a gender advantage in science achievement for 8th grade boys. More important, the largest gender differences in science achievement are for students of the highest ability. Since future women scientist are likely to be drawn from this pool, these findings suggest a possible cause of the underrepresentation of women in scientific careers. The study's major focus is on students' school and classroom experiences in science as they move through the pipeline. Using the first three waves of NELS:88 data, the study aims to capture the educational trajectory of the same students in their 8th, 10th, and 12th grade years. The focus is on the opportunities schools provide students to learn science, and how these opportunities differ by gender-- espcecially for the ablest students. ***
