Educators say a variety of reasons could account for boys’ lagging academic achievement levels.

The dearth of male teachers who can act as role models and the feeling among boys that it’s not cool to do well in school could be factors, said former Education Commissioner J. Duke Albanese.

Robert Cobb, dean of the University of Maine College of Education, wondered if the problem could be due in part to boys having to share with girls the prestige that comes from sports participation.

“In the past, they pretty much owned the spotlight. That recognition and esteem often translated into leadership roles in the schools and feelings of self-worth and the ability to get things done,” he said. “Boys saw themselves as achievers in all sorts of arenas, including academics.”

Boys are taught from a young age to be tough and to hold their emotions in check, said Robert Pfeiffer, a guidance counselor at Appleton Village School who has worked with high school and college students.

Consequently, many young males alternate between periods of quiet depression and emotional outbursts, finding it hard to focus on schoolwork, he said.

While one national study indicated that low academic achievement and aspirations primarily affect low-income and minority boys, Pfeiffer said, he has found the problem cuts across all socioeconomic levels.

Boys who are in classrooms with “teachers who aren’t being responsive to their individual learning needs are in big trouble,” said Richard Kent, a UM education professor.

A former English teacher in Rumford, Kent said boys typically need to move around in small groups, participate in hands-on activities, and work outside the classroom.

Superintendent Judith Harvey said SAD 50 (Thomaston area) may try some new teaching practices after officials begin gathering data to see how boys are faring locally.

With money from the Georges River Education Foundation, the district plans next September to bring in experts to speak to the community and staff and to survey boys on their school experience, she said.

“Our general sense of things is that what’s happening with boys in this district mirrors what the research says,” Harvey said.

As curriculum coordinator in SAD 22 of the Hampden area, Ruey Yehle noticed several years ago that boys were trailing behind girls.

Now principal at Hampden Academy, Yehle said, “What makes the most sense is to acknowledge that both genders appear to have needs.”