Socio-economic factors in scholastic performance. Education provides an individual with the skills needed to progress in life. But socioeconomic factors such as race, gender, and ethnicity can influence the quality and availability of education, as well as the ability of education to improve lives. Therefore it is important to have a clear understanding of what influences your level of education. With the introduction of the 1988 National Curriculum by the Education Reform Act, the gap between gender and educational attainment at GCSE level shows a gender gap in favor of girls. Powney (1996) cites a number of studies showing that assessment mode is a factor in explaining the differential performance of boys and girls. They show that boys tend to be favored by multiple-choice questions and girls by essays and coursework. This is mainly due to differences between boys and girls in language and literacy skills, which are reflected in English and other literacy-based subjects. According to Department for Education (DFE) statistics, the gap between the proportion of girls and boys achieving 5 or more GCSEs, grades A* to C or equivalent, including English and maths GCSEs, is 9. 5 percentage points, with 63.6% of girls achieving this indicator compared to 54.2% of boys. In 2007-08 the gender gap widened by 1.4 percentage points, with girls outperforming boys by 14% in English, 16% in design and technology, 9% in modern foreign languages, 17% in art and design and 12% in English literature. only 1% in mathematics, 2% in fundamental sciences, 1% in chemistry and 2% in classical studies. However, looking in more detail at the year-on-year trends, the gap began...... middle of paper ......ng. Beachside Comprehensive Cassen, C. and Kingdon, G. (2007) Addressing low educational achievement. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation Powney, J. (1996) Gender and Attainment: a review, Edinburgh: Scottish Council for Research in Education. Warrington, M., Younger M. and Williams, J. 2000 Students Attitudes, Images and the Gender Gap, British Educational Research Journal. Bibliography: Browne Ken (1998) An introduction to sociology. Second edition. Polity Press, Cambridge.https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education‎ (accessed 12 February 2014 at 16:45).https://www.gov.uk/government/publications / gcse-and-equivalent-attainment-by-pupil-characteristics-in-england (accessed 12 February at 1.30pm). http://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/oct/10/britains-divided -school -system-report (accessed February 21, 20014 at 18:31)..