RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Leaving Boys Behind JF Journal of Human Resources JO J Hum Resour FD University of Wisconsin Press SP 549 OP 579 DO 10.3368/jhr.50.3.549 VO 50 IS 3 A1 Nicole M. Fortin A1 Philip Oreopoulos A1 Shelley Phipps YR 2015 UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/50/3/549.abstract AB Using data from the “Monitoring the Future” surveys, this paper shows that from the 1980s to the 2000s, the mode of girls’ high school GPA distribution has shifted from “B” to “A,” essentially “leaving boys behind” as the mode of boys’ GPA distribution stayed at “B.” In a reweighted Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition of achievement at each GPA level, we find that changes to gender differences in post-secondary expectations, in particular expectations for attending graduate or professional school, are the most important factors accounting for this trend after controlling for school ability and they occur as early as the eighth grade.