I've read "The War Against Boys" and Dobson's book on boys (which is really good, btw), and I've been annoyed and frustrated at the lack of academic chutzpah on the part of boys in school. One thing that is not considered in what I've read, though, is the cultural aspect of this lack of desire to succeed. My school is mostly Hispanic. It was also low-performing, according to the Gordian calculations done by the Dept. of Ed. A lot of the boys don't tow the line academically because their dads don't. He has maybe a 5th grade education from Mexico, and has no incentive to learn English or better himself. Granted, many of them are hard workers, and would've gone far had they the chance. But some just sit on their butts at home, not working, letting the woman (wife, whatever) take care of things. And this is the role model these boys are getting, so no wonder they don't care about school.
I would like to see single-sex classrooms, but the devil will win a gold medal in figure skating before Davis and the rest of the lib losers let that happen.