Tests made in the 1960s showed that the scholastic achievement of girls was higher in the early grades than in high school.1 The explanation to this fact was given that the girls' own expectations declined because both their families and their teachers didn’t consider their role other than that in marriage and motherhood. This view has been changing recently.

By the end of the 19th century, the number of women students had increased greatly. Higher education was expanded, in fact, by the rise of women's colleges and the admission of women to regular colleges and universities. In 1870 an estimated

• Opportunities for women's leadership in all aspects of institutional life

8. Tidball, E., Smith, D., Tidball, C., and L. Wolf-Wendel. 1999. Taking Women Seriously: Lessons and Legacies for Educating the Majority. American Council on Education. Phoenix, Ariz.: Oryx Press

This research investigated that women's colleges were much better than other institutions in terms of motivating their graduates to become successful in virtually all fields, including the physical sciences.9 Since there are very few women's colleges that offer engineering degrees, most women engineers are still obtaining their degrees under difficult conditions, in colleges that do not have the success-linked criteria listed above.10

• Celebration of traditions and institutional history

• Belief in women's capacities and high expectations

Some topics in this essay:
, History America, Women's History, women's history, women's history america, Bridge Volume, history america, Donna Shirley, Oryx Press, NewMedia Inc, women's colleges, donna shirley, Tidball Wolf-Wendel, creative teams, century women, women engineers,