Myra Pollack Sadker; Studied Classroom Bias

Myra Pollack Sadker, 52, who pioneered research showing that American schools discriminate against girls. Last year, she and her husband, David M. Sadker, published “Failing at Fairness: How America’s Schools Cheat Girls.” A native of Portland, Me., Mrs. Sadker earned her bachelor’s degree at Boston University, her master’s degree at Harvard and doctorate at the University of Massachusetts. She spent most of her career teaching at American University, where she also served as dean of education. She had focused on the presence of educational bias since she was a graduate student, was widely interviewed by newspapers and magazines and became a popular guest on radio and television talk shows. She and her husband said in their book that teachers exhibit conscious or subconscious sexism by spending more time interacting with male students than females--calling more often on boys, making more substantial comments on their work and praising them more. As a result, she said, girls lose self-esteem and score poorly on standardized tests. On March 18 in Bethesda, Md., of breast cancer.