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Positives - boys and girls learn differently, and boys are falling behind in regular schools (I have 2 boys).
Negatives - social aspects. I think boys and girls should learn to socialize together. Cost. I'm sure single-sex schools are all or mostly private and probably religious too.
I did my last two years of school in a uniformed, girls-only school. I didn't think I'd like it but I actually did, there was no "you took this boy from me" fighting, we could all concentrate on our exams and studying in class/ study hall. Socialising was not a problem, because we would have school dances with the local boys school, and of course meet boys at the shops, out-of-school sports etc.
I would definitely consider it for my kids, especially for secondary school (middle/ highschool).
But I also think demographics need to be considered. To my knowledge, most all girl/boy schools are either religiously based, college prepatory based, private, or expensive. So, naturally their students will score higher on standardized exams.
Is everything else equal? Are we comparing inner city coed classes 50% of whom are ESL with some elite college prep boys (or girls) academy?
Quote:
Originally Posted by strawflower
But I also think demographics need to be considered. To my knowledge, most all girl/boy schools are either religiously based, college prepatory based, private, or expensive. So, naturally their students will score higher on standardized exams.
The statistics were the result of a study at a public school in Florida:
Quote:
Researchers at Stetson University in Florida completed a three-year pilot project comparing single-sex classrooms with coed classrooms at Woodward Avenue Elementary School, a nearby neighborhood public school. For example, students in the 4th grade at Woodward were assigned either to single-sex or coed classrooms. All relevant parameters were matched: the class sizes were all the same, the demographics were the same, all teachers had the same training in what works and what doesn't work, etc. On the FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test), here were the results:
Percentage of students scoring proficient on the FCAT
boys in coed classes: 37% scored proficient
girls in coed classes: 59% scored proficient
girls in single-sex classes: 75% scored proficient
boys in single-sex classes: 86% scored proficient.
Remember, these students were all learning the same curriculum in the same school. And, this school "mainstreams" students who are learning-disabled, or who have ADHD etc. Many of those boys who scored proficient in the all-boys classes had previously been labeled "ADHD" or "ESE" in coed classes.
2008 update: in a recent report on NBC Nightly News, Professor Kathy Piechura-Couture of Stetson University , reported that over the four years of the pilot study, 55% of boys in the coed classrooms scored proficient on the FCAT, compared with 85% of boys in the all-boys classes. Same class size. Same curriculum. Same demographics.
But I also think demographics need to be considered. To my knowledge, most all girl/boy schools are either religiously based, college prepatory based, private, or expensive. So, naturally their students will score higher on standardized exams.
Single-Sex Schools / Schools with single-sex classrooms / what's the difference?
In March 2002, when NASSPE was founded, only about a dozen public schools offered single-gender classrooms. For the 2011-2012 school year, at least 506 public schools in the United States are offering single-sex educational opportunities. About 390 of those schools are COED schools which offer single-sex CLASSROOMS, but which retain at least some coed activities.
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