Boys outnumber girls 3 to 1 in computer science courses at Fairfax County high schools, a gender gap that is "truly alarming" given today's technology-driven job market, according to a new report.

African American and Hispanic students also are underrepresented in the classes, said the report, which was prepared by the Fairfax School Board's Human Relations Advisory Committee.

The Fairfax figures mirror a national trend, several educators said. High-tech classes are becoming the new "boys clubs" at schools across the country, said Janice Weinman, executive director of the American Association of University Women, which will release its own study on the issue this fall.

Montgomery County officials said they have noticed a similar pattern in computer science enrollment in their schools.

The Fairfax committee recommended that the school district develop a major initiative to promote computer skills in female and minority pupils.

"While we've made some great gains in math and the sciences, this area is especially important because the information technology sector is where the jobs and money are," said Sharon Eisenberg, the committee's chairman.

The Fairfax report found that girls made up 26 percent of the students taking regular computer science classes during the 1997-98 school year, and just 20 percent of those enrolled in Advanced Placement computer science courses.

Boys also outnumbered girls by a wide margin in AP physics classes. In most other upper-level math and science classes, however, the numbers of girls and boys were about the same.

Weinman said the report to be issued by the AAUW's Educational Foundation has determined that girls are being left behind in the fast-changing world of technology. The same foundation released the 1992 report "How Schools Shortchange Girls."

The foundation also is sponsoring a study that will look at how girls and boys accept and use computers differently and at ways that teachers can ensure equity in the classroom, Weinman said.

She said the reasons for the gender gap are varied. Computer software -- particularly computer games, which often spark children's interest in computers -- is "male-dominated and male-directed," she said. "Most of the figures are men -- they're aggressive, killing and shooting."

Another problem is that teachers tend to direct girls toward the word-processing functions of computers, Weinman said. "There's an expectation that girls are not going to go into the higher-level computer science fields," she said.

The Fairfax report noted that women make up only 25 percent of the information technology work force.

In Montgomery, boys and girls are equally represented in courses that focus on applications of computer science, but boys account for about 75 percent of the students enrolled in computer programming courses, said Janice McCall, director of career and technology education for Montgomery public schools.

That discrepancy is a concern among county educators, McCall said. But some Montgomery high schools are bucking the trend, apparently because they have strong computer science programs with little teacher turnover, she said.

"We're finding that strong teachers are attracting kids" of both sexes, McCall said. The district is also offering an eighth-grade computer science course this summer as an experiment, hoping to promote interest in computer science at an earlier age.

The Fairfax panel said any effort to address the problem must begin in elementary schools. It recommended that the county review all of its software for "gender content, appeal and acceptance" and that guidance counselors receive special training in breaking down sex segregation.

School officials should create a position for a math, science and technology coordinator who would work with guidance counselors and college recruiters to promote careers for girls in those fields, the committee said.

"The effects of these course choices, which often become career choices, can be seen in a lifetime of lower earnings and lower retirement benefits for a majority of women," the report said.

Fairfax School Superintendent Daniel A. Domenech said that he and his staff will be developing strategies to address the issue and that he plans to seek advice from the county's high-tech businesses.

Domenech noted that several county high school students already are doing consulting and free-lance work for area technology companies. One student is a girl making about $30,000 a year, he said.

"We need to expose more girls and minorities to these kinds of courses and the benefits of pursuing these kinds of studies," he said.

School Board member Kristen J. Amundson (Mount Vernon) said guidance counselors "may need a little more encouragement" in steering girls toward the courses.

"The gains we've made in math and science show that once people are sensitized to the problem, they're more than willing to take action," she said.