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They Say: Nice Girls, Neat Boys Get Better Grades
Along with flashcards, private tutors and piping in Mozart, you’ll want to include neatly pressed slacks and personality coaching in your child’s long-term educational strategies.
A new study has found a significant link between beauty and grades, something everyone but the beautiful have long suspected.
In “Effects of Physical Attractiveness, Personality and Grooming on Academic Performance in High School“, forthcoming in the August issue of Labour Economics, University of Miami sociologist Michael T. French found that a student’s high school GPA was influenced by the three factors in the title.
What’s interesting is that even more helpful than beauty for girls (and boys, who aren’t helped that much by being good-looking) is personality and grooming.
A summary of the findings from Newsweek:
- Physical attractiveness alone boosts GPA for both genders.
- Nevertheless, physical attractiveness was a weaker predictor of grades than grooming (for boys) and personality (for girls).
- That suggests that teacher bias plays a significant role in what grades students get. Teachers reward some physical and personality types and penalize others.
So how exactly do so-called “beauty premiums” and “plainness penalties” work? No time to find out. I’ve got to get the girls trimmed and tweezed and, if there’s time, practice demure smiling and gentle questioning and just being really, really nice. We’re Harvard-bound!
Okay all you teacher out there, don’t deny it! You dock the stinky kids just because.
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8 Comments
puasamanda commented on Jul 15 09 at 2:10 pmThis does not surprise me at all. That doesn’t make it ideal, or even remotely “right,” but it is not surprising. Studies have long shown that attractiveness really does pave the way for some things being easier – among all age groups. People who are attractive are often seen as more competent in the workforce, men who are taller get paid more than their shorter, male counterparts in the same job…this list goes on! My son hasn’t arrived yet, but I guess when he does, I’ll be teaching him to wash “extra-good” behind his ears, and I’ll have to brush the dust off my iron to keep his school clothes pressed. Alas!
K and R's Mommy commented on Jul 15 09 at 3:11 pmDid this study adjust for socio-economic status? This is going to sound bad, although it is not meant that way — in the short time I spent teaching, the students who were not as well groomed tended to be more economically challenged. Not to mention the children who can afford “high style” clothes can also afford outside help (tutors) and may have parents (or nannies) that are more involved in their education.
Alicia commented on Jul 15 09 at 7:22 pmI agree with K and R’s mommy.. I teach, and it has nothing to do with my preference or how I treat kids. Children who show up to class with their hair brushed and clean clothes are those whose parents are more likely to do homework with them and play a role in their life/school. Kids who show up “stinky” as you say or who are unkempt, dirty, and often hungry are usually from lower income families where parents spend less time helping them or are unable to help them, and are more likely to have other problems affecting their school work.
cheri commented on Jul 15 09 at 9:27 pmOoop, watch it. Poor does not = parents who cannot afford hair brushes or tooth paste, and who do not care about their children’s education, health, or happiness. The poor kids whose parents did a good job of caring for them just slid past your “poor” assessment of them.
Child abuse and neglect are NOT only or even predominately found in the lower classes. (and “stinky” is one of the warning signs for neglect)
K and R's Mommy commented on Jul 17 09 at 8:44 pmJust to be clear, and in my defense, I did say “tend to be” and did not at all intend a sweeping generalization. Cheri, you are right, neglect is neglect and come happen at any socio-economic level.
Victor commented on Jul 31 09 at 11:42 amwhen dressing good it shows what type of person and how you treat work.You have to dress nice to a job interview and have to smell nice so this has to say that children care about there grades and see what the teachers thinks about their students.
Victor commented on Jul 31 09 at 11:43 amComments
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