Granted these studies are old, but this is from "How Schools Shortchange Girls".
"Teachers call on and interact with boys more than girls (Sadker & Sadker, 1994). This is probably not intentional. During the numerous teacher-student interactions that occur over the course of the school day, boys use creative and effective techniques to catch the teacher�s attention. Boys quickly raise their hands to respond or contribute to discussions, wave their hand around and up and down, change the arm they have raised when it gets tired, jump out of their seat and make noise or plead with the teacher to call on them. Girls, however, raise their hand but will soon put it down if they are not acknowledged. As a result, teachers call on boys and interact with them most of the time, while girls� passive, compliant behavior often means they are ignored. [...]
In addition to allowing boys more time to respond, teachers often extend boy�s answers by asking a follow-up question or by asking them to support their previous response. Girls are more likely to receive an �accepted� response from teachers such as �Okay� or �Uh-huh.� [...]Carmen�s answer prompted only the comment �Okay.� These behaviors send a very negative message about the importance of girls� contributions to class discussions. [...]
Teachers tolerate more calling out from boys than from girls. Boys call out answers (when the teacher does not call on them) eight times more often than girls do (Sadker & Sadker, 1994). Teachers often respond to boys� calling out, thus reinforcing the behavior. When girls call out, however, teachers are more likely to remind them that they are not following the class rules. [...]
In one area females usually receive more attention than boys�physical appearance. Girls receive compliments more often than boys on their clothing, hairstyle and overall appearance (Sadker & Sadker, 1994). This emphasis on appearance also influences how their school work is evaluated (Dweck, Davidson, Nelson & Enna, 1978). Girls receive praise for neatness while boys receive recognition for academic achievements."
So while I acknowledged that it does all come down to personalities in the classroom, I think the studies link gender with behavior.
I'm really curious whether recent studies show this to hold true. I feel like girls are socialized a little differently these days...
